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COTTON 

CARDERS' COMPANION. 

IN WHICH IS GIVEN A DESCRIPTION OF THE 

Manner of Rcking, Baling, Marketing, Opening and 
Carding Cotton. 

TO WHICH IS ADDED A LIST OF 

Yaluable Tables, Kules and Receipts. 



By FOSTER WILSON, Lowell, Mass. 



■"Not slotTiful in business ; fervent in spirit, serving the Lord." — ROM. Xll: IL 

" A blessing now, — a curse no more, 
A Since He whose name we breathe with awe, 

f i The coarse mechanic vesture wore, — 
/o ' A poor man toiling with the poor, 

1^' In labor as in prayer, fulfilling the same law." 

— Whittier. 



LOWELL, MASS.: 

STONE, HUSE & CO., BOOK AND JOB PRINTEES, No. 130 CENTRAL ST. 

1876, 




bC 






1)- 



j<]i^C 



^ INTKODUCTION. 



The author makes his lowest bow to his patrons as he intro- 
duces the CoTTOX Carders' Companion. Many works have 
been written on cotton manufacturing — written mostly by gentle- 
men and scholars. The author has read them with great profit, 
and yet he has many times felt the need of just such a work as 
this. His work is not designed to take the place of any that have . 
IDreceded it, but is a sort of little particular supplement. Most 
works on this subject take in the whole of manufacturing. This 
only carding. Many deal largely in theories. This in practice. 
Some are general. This is particular. This little work will come 
to the notice of the learned, as well as laboring men. The former 
will please bear in mind that the writer of it is himself a labor- 
ing man; and that it is designed particularly to aid his own class 
in the successful prosecution of their vocation; though it contains 
some ideas worthy the notice of any engaged in the manufacture 
of cotton goods. And though the style is simple, he trusts the 
matter may be profitable. If a book is good, it does not need a 
long preface. If it is dry, a long preface only makes it drier. 
Very respectfully, 

FOSTEK WILSON. 



INDEX 



CHAPTER I. 

PAGE 

Cotton, and the Machinery used in its Manufacture, .... 5 

CHAPTER II. 

Opening, or Picking, Cotton, 1;^ 

CHAPTER III. 

Carding, 34 

CHAPTER IV. 

Drawing, 76 

CHAPTER Y. 

Speeders, 9G 

CHAPTER VI. 

Miscellany, 119 

PARTICULAR IXDEX. 

Re-working Waste. 17 

Grinding, 38 

Amount of Work for a Card 48 

Stripping Cards, 55 

Screens, 59 

Laying Drawing in Railway Roxes, 79 

Regulating Tension, 100 

Progressive Doublings and Drawing, 109 

Lowell Speeder Tables, 114 

Hank Table, 119 

Twist Table, 124 

" Hygrometer Table, 132 

Belt Table, 140 

Perpetual Calendar, 142 

Weights of Various Articles, 149 

Receipts. 150 



Entered according to Act of Con;jc»"ess, in the year 1876, by 

FOSTER WILSON, 
In the Office of the Librarian of Conjjjrebs, at Wabhington. 



CHAPTER I. 
Cotton, and the Machinery used in its Manufacture. 

GENERAL REMARKS — COTTON — WHAT IS IN IT — HOW IT GETS 
THERE — A carder's BUSINESS — PICKING COTTON — DRY- 
ING COTTON — GINNING COTTON — BALING COTTON — TRANS- 
PORTING COTTON — AFFECTED BY THE ATMOSPHERE AND 
ELECTRICITY — MACHINERY AND IMPROVEMENTS — WHAT 
IT SHOULD BE, AND HOW KEPT SO. 

In a work of this kind it seems appropriate to 
begin at the bottom. When a physician is called 
to a sick man^ the first thing he does is to find out 
the nature of the disease, so that he may be able 
to treat it successfully. When we are about tak- 
ing a journey to a distant place, we first acquaint 
ourselves with the condition of the road that leads 
there, that we may know what kind of convey- 
ance is best adapted to it. If we have a material 
to work upon, it is well to inform ourselves as to 
its nature and general character, that we may pro- 
vide ourselves with the proper implements. If the 
material is cotton the first thing to do is to find 
out what cotton is, what is its condition, how it 
came to be in such a condition, and what is neces- 
sary to work such changes as we desire. 

We find cotton to be the fibre of a plant ; 
and if there was nothing else but good, nice, 
straight fibre, we should find it comparatively 
easy to convert it into yarn and cloth. But 
unfortunately for us, good long, straight fibre- is 
mixed up with other things, and such other things 
as we do not want, and must be rid of in order 
to utilize the fibre. Cotton as it comes to us has 
dead leaf, sand, seeds, blights, and what we call 



6 WILSON'S COTTOiSr CAKDERS' COMPANION. 

nits and gins, and the fibre is considerably curled 
up. The business of a cotton carder is to rid it 
of all extraneous matter, lay the fibres parallel, 
and form them into a thread called roving. 

It may be interesting and profitable to examine 
into the causes of so much foreign matter being 
mixed up with the fibre of cotton ; and to do this 
we must take a look at it in the field where it 
grows, watch the process and progress of picking, 
preparing for market and its transportation. 

Cotton grows in what it would be natural for 
us to call pods, but the planters call them bolls. 
When it is ripe the bolls open ; the fibre is curled 
up round the seed. This is a provision of nature 
for its own propagation. But at this point art lays 
hold of it and appropriates it. The bolls begin to 
open the latter part of July or first of August, 
according to the season. When a sufficient num- 
ber of bolls have opened the pickers commence 
their work ; each is provided with a bag suspended 
from the neck, so that both hands may be used. 
The contents of all the open bolls are transferred to 
the bag. The bolls that have been open longest 
have some of them shed their contents out on to 
the ground, or they have been beaten out by the ac- 
tion of the elements, but they are all gathered up by 
the picker ; hence we find dirt in cotton. The bolls 
do not open all at once, and by the time the pickers 
have passed over the fields once, another set are 
open, and the hands pass over it a second and third 
time, and thus it continues sometimes as late as 
December. 

During this time there is usually some frost 
which stops the growth of the plant and kills the 
leaves and the leaves of weeds and other vegeta- 
tion contiguous to the cotton plant. These leaves 
are soon dry, crumble up, get mixed with the 



WILSON^S COTTON CARDERS^ COMPANIOI^. 7 

cotton, and find their way into the picker's bag. 
When the frost comes and puts a stop to the growth 
there are some which are not ripe^, and the green, 
frost-bitten boll dries up and turns black ; the un- 
ripe cotton inside clings to it ; this kind is also 
transferred to the picker's bag. So we find dead 
leaf and blighted cotton as w^ell as dirt. 

If the weather is cloudy and damp at the time 
of picking, the cotton is spread out to dry for a 
time. After it is dry it is taken to the gin-house 
to be ginned. The gin is a savage sort of machine, 
and it may be so w^orked as to injure the fibre ; 
indeed cotton often bears unmistakable evidence 
of injury received in ginning. The savage gin 
referred to is called the " saw gin," which is the 
only kind the writer has ever seen^ and those at 
rest, and he is not qualified* to give an intelligible 
description of them ; yet from w^hat he does know 
of the character of cotton and the effect of ma- 
chinery upon its fibre, he is able to form some 
idea of how injury may be done in the process. 

The plan is to draw the fibre through a wire 
frame or rack by means of saw teeth. Let the 
reader picture to his mind a number of smallish 
circular saws, fixed on a shaft, or arbor, side by 
side, Avith the teeth just projecting through the 
bars of a wire rack ; behind the saws a revolving 
brush to clear them. Thus much the writer has 
seen, and the rest he must himself imagine. We 
will suppose that the machine is set in motion — 
saws revolving with considerable velocity, and the 
brush in an opposite direction to clear the saws, 
the operator placing the cotton in the wire rack ; 
the saw teeth lay hold of it and draw the fibre 
through, leaving the seeds behind, the brush 
cleaning the saws and passing the cotton along 
towards the delivery. Now, suppose everything 



8 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

is in order and the cotton properly fed to the 
machine, we can conceive how the work may be 
very nicely done ; but suppose the machine to be 
out of order, the brushes too far off, or they may 
have become worn and consequently ineffective, 
or the operator may crowd the machine. In either 
of the above ways, and perhaps in others, the ma- 
chine may work badly, get loaded up, the cotton 
pass through between the bars of the wire rack 
several times on the points of the saw teeth, and 
get bruised and ground up, producing that peculiar 
little white nub, or nit, or nep ; it is something 
familiar to carders, whatever its proper name may 
be, and after once being formed they are hard to 
get rid of, and consequently it is very important 
that cotton be properly ginned. 

There is another kind of gin called the roller 
gin, less severe in its action upon the fibre, though 
slower in its operation. The object of ginning is 
to rid cotton of seeds. This it does in a good 
degree, though some find their way through the 
bars of the rack or the rolls in a roller gin, and 
hence we have some seeds in addition to all other 
substances that have been mentioned. 

The next process after ginning is baling. This 
is done in about the same manner as farmers 
bale hay in New England — a press with a long 
wooden screw worked by man, or horse power, or 
both. The bales as put up by the planters are 
very much larger than they are when we get them. 
After it is baled it is taken to the landing on the 
river, or to the railroad station, as the case may 
be. At these places it often lies for days waiting 
for shipment ; sometimes rains fall on it, and it 
frequently gets tumbled about in the dirt, or mud, 
or both, considerably before loading on the steamer 
or cars. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 9 

On arriving at market (the planters' market) it 
is inspected, assorted, rebaled under a hydraulic 
press ; and here the bales are pressed harder, and 
made smaller for convenience of transportation. It 
is now ready for market. It goes through a simi- 
lar carting and rolling about in the mud to that 
described above. 

Southern mud is very adhesive and will stick to 
a cotton-bag as well as anything else, and does so 
stick. When this mud gets dry much of it works 
through the bag, and we find it in the shape of 
sand ; so we have another ingredient in compound. 
It may be well to sum them up : First, dirt gath- 
ered with the cotton in the field ; second, dead 
leaf; third, unripe or blighted cotton ; fourth, nits 
made in ginning, in some cases ; fifth, seeds ; 
sixth, sand. When cotton is rebaled, it is fre- 
quently damp, and the tremendous pressure to 
which it is subjected renders it more difficult to 
relieve from these substances than it otherwise 
would be. 

Cotton differs in one particular from any other 
vegetable fibre. It is this : each fibre is a little 
independent twisted thread, the twist so close that 
it cannot be seen with the naked eye, though it is 
discernible with a powerful glass. This property 
gives the fibres an attraction to each other, and an 
adhesiveness after being joined by extraneous twist, 
rendering it capable of a tenuity far beyond any 
other vegetable fibre. It is considerably affected 
by the atmosphere, and in working it is subjected 
to the continual changes which are taking place 
in that element. It will absorb five per cent, of 
its own weight in dampness in the atmosphere, 
under some circumstances. 

It is also affected by electricity, though a non- 
conductor. Electricity is excited more or less by 



10 WILSON'S COTTOX CAKDERS' COMPANJOX. 

machinery through which cotton passes in its man- 
ufacture, and when the air is dry it is also a non- 
conductor. Under these circumstances the elec- 
tricity remains where it is excited, and is frequently 
the cause of great annoyance to cotton carders. 
We used to say — " When the air is dry it is full 
of electricity." The fact is, when the air is dry 
it does not conduct the electricity away, and it 
remains w^here it is excited, attracting cotton fibres 
in all directions, drawing rolls up, and roving will 
not draw down, nor twist smooth. These facts 
should be borne in mind by cotton carders. The 
remedy for these evils will be considered, each 
under its appropriate head, as this work progresses. 

We have now traced cotton from the boll to the 
bale. We have seen how^ other substances have 
got mixed up with it, and how hard they have 
been pressed into it. Our next business will be 
to consider how to get these foreign substances 
out of it, the fibres completely separated from 
them and laid paralleh It will be our object, in 
considering this subject, to point out the most 
convenient, and at the same time efficacious, man- 
ner of doing it. 

The primitive old plan of doing this business 
was very simple, performed by hand, slow and te- 
dious ; so that when men began to multiply rap- 
idly and began to have a desire to dress fashiona- 
bly, the supply fell short of the demand. Then 
it was, some hundred years ago or more, that men 
in England began to turn their attention to the 
invention of machinery to assist in this branch of 
cotton manufacture, as it had been employed in 
spinning. The first attempts in this direction 
were rude and simple ] but as one machine after 
another was constructed and applied to the pur- 
pose, improvements suggested themselves to the 



WILSON'S COTTOiSr CARDERS' COMPANION. 11 

minds of the builders and operators ; new ma- 
chines were built, old ones were remodeled^ and 
faults remedied from time to time, until a whole 
system of machinery was arranged to take cotton 
from the field and change it into cloth. And 
when the system was completed, improvements 
continued and are vigorously kept up until this 
present, and are likely to continue as long as the 
world stands. We have learned something, and 
yet we are learning. " Every day brings some- 
thing new," is as true in cotton manufacturing 
as in anything else. 

Sometimes enthusiastic inventors have a zeal 
Avith which unfortunately their knowledge does 
not keep pace, and we are offered some impracti- 
cable machinery. But good judgment is sure to 
come to the rescue, sooner or later, and we are 
enabled to discern between that which is right 
and proper and that which is not — keep the good 
and cast the bad away. We are sometimes trou- 
bled with poorly-built machinery. Cheapness is 
the great desideratum. This has led to a sharp 
competition and given us some machines that are 
not A No. 1. Accuracy of construction is very 
necessary in all cotton machinery, but nowhere 
more so than in that belonging to the carding de- 
partment. Cast-iron pulleys work more satisfac- 
torily when covered with leather ; belts are not 
required to be so tight when they are so covered, 
as they are without such covering, thus making a 
saving not only in belts and belt fastenings, but a 
saving in shafting, hangers and oil. All kinds of 
shafting should be hung level and straight, and in 
new mills, where there is a liability of shrinkage 
of wood-work and settling of walls, it should be 
re-leveled as often as occasion may require. Every 
carder should insist on having thoroughly-built 



12 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

and accurate machinery ; and if it is not so^ he 
should report to the proper authorities, so that 
censure may come in the right place^. if it comes 
at all. All kinds of machinery should be careful- 
ly watched and kept in repair ; the first begin- 
nings of disorder should be attended to. " A 
stitch in time saves nine " is true in this particu- 
lar. Machinery should not be left to run alone — 
not even on loose pulleys — as there is a liability 
of trouble. A pulley may heat and throw fire, 
or it may stick and start a frame. 



CHAPTER II. 
Opening, or Picking, Cotton. 

GENERAL EEMAEKS — CHANGES — PURPOSE AND PRINCIPLES OF 
OPENING AND PICKING COTTON — OLD METHOD — GRADUAL 
CHANGES — NAMES OF MACHINES — INVENTIONS — VARIA- 
TIONS IN COTTON — MIXING — THE BEST METHOD — REASONS 
GIVEN — WASTE, HOW IT WILL WORK ALONE — FIRST MA- 
CHINE — WHAT IT USED TO BE — A WHIPPER — WHAT SPEED 
TO RUN — THE CALVERT WILLOW — OLD STYLE — IMPROVE- 
MENTS ON SAME — NEW MACHINERY — ADVANTAGES CLAIMED 

— PRODUCTS OF SAME — RELATIONS OF BEATERS AND ROLL- 
ERS — SPEED OF BEATERS — QUALIFICATIONS OF TERMS — 
DRAUGHT OF PICKERS — FAN DRAUGHT — SELF-REGULATING 
DOORS AND EVENERS — DOUBLE PICKING — SINGLE— REGU- 
LATING BY SOUND OF BEATERS — OLD PRACTICE OF WORKING 
WASTE — NEW ONE SUGGESTED — OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED 

— MAKING THE MOST OF EVERYTHING — INJURY OF FIBRE 

— WHAT DO WE MEAN BY IT — WHAT IT IS NOT — WHAT IS 
NECESSARY — HOW TO MANAGE — THE MODERN PICKER AT 
WORK — WHAT IT DOES, AND HOW — THE CREDIT OF THE 
MACHINE TO WHOM IT BELONGS — KITSON'S NEW OPENER.' A 
DESCRIPTION OF — SPRINKLERS — A SUGGESTION. 

Picking as it used to be called was, and is now^ 
the first process that cotton passes through in its 
manufacture ; and though this process has been 
known in different sections^ at different times, by 
various names, such as '^ whipping," ^^ willowing/' 
'-' picking " and '' opening," and the names of the 
machines used for these purposes have been as 
varied as the names of processes, yet the purpose 
and principle remain the same. The purpose is to 
open out and disentangle the fibre, relieve from 
dirt as much as possible, and prepare it for the 
card. The principle is to subject it to the action 
of machinery of some kind, with more or less se- 
verity of whipping, scratching and pounding, to 



14 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

produce the desired result. Within the last twen- 
ty yearSj more or less^ this branch of business has 
been made a department by itself by many large 
concerns and some small ones. It is common in 
these times to find in many places the ''' picker 
house " (as it is usually called), with its appurte- 
nances, all independent of the carding, or any 
other room. Where this is the case, of course 
picking is no part of the carder's business. But 
there are still some places where this business is 
carried on in connection with the carding, and un- 
der the supervision of the carder, and consequent- 
ly must be considered in this volume. With the 
change in style of doing this work, making it a 
department by itself, it becomes a question of more 
interest than formerly. More attention is paid to 
it now than used to be under the old system. 

Many changes, and some improvements, have 
been made in machines ; but as has been remark- 
ed, the purpose and principle remain the same. 
It is the manner that changes. The old method 
of separating the cotton fibre from seeds and dirt 
was first to spread a quantity on a bench or plat- 
form, and whip it with willow sticks. This loos- 
ened out the fibre a little ] then it was picked by 
hand ; then carded between tvro flat hand cards. 
It is very probable that, as machinery began to 
take the place of some of the instruments used 
for these purposes, the machines took the names of 
instruments. Machines were first worked by hand- 
power, then horse-power, then water and steam. 

In this light it is easy to conceive how machines 
used for loosening out and cleaning cotton fibres 
were first called a ^Svillow " and a '^^ picker," 
because they originally performed the work with 
willow sticks and by hand picking. '^' Scutch " 
was the name of an instrument used in England 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 15 

in old times to break flax with ; so in that coun- 
try what used to be called a " picker " with us^ 
was by them called a ^Sscutcher." We are getting 
nearer together now, and most people call this 
business opening and picking cotton. 

It is not necessary, in a work of this kind, to 
trace out the names of inventors from those prim- 
itive times down to the present; neither would it 
be safe to undertake it, as many of the same in- 
ventions are claimed on both sides of the Atlantic. 
It is generally conceded, however, that a Scotch- 
man by the name of Snodgrass was the inventor 
of the beater principle, though his original idea 
has been greatly enlarged upon, and still the work 
is going on. A sentence in the circular announc- 
ing this work, reads as follows : " The best meth- 
od of putting cotton through the various processes 
through which it passes in preparation for spin- 
ning will be discussed at some length, each under 
its appropriate head, and reasons given." And 
the writer would invite particular attention to the 
last words of the sentence, ^^ And reasons given.". 

The writer has had some experience in the pre- 
paration of cotton, and in some particulars he 
knows whereof he speaks. It is not guess-work, 
though he would not lay down a particular rule, 
to be governed by under all circumstances. Cot- 
ton varies so much in length, strength, fineness, 
smoothness and cleanness of fibre, that it would be 
very unwise to treat it all alike in preparation ; 
but there are some general rules that are applica- 
ble to all kinds. 

And under this head may be mentioned, mixing 
previous to working with machinery. In this par- 
ticular it may ; yea, it should all be treated alike. 
Men have their own peculiar notions as to the best 
course to pursue in mixing. The writer has tried 



16 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

various ways, under direction of parties for whom 
he has worked, some of them very cumbersome 
and laborious ; and he has no fault to find with 
any of them. But there is one plan he has tried 
with entire satisfaction ; while there may be many 
good ways, this one is considered the best. First, 
a large, airy room should be provided — the larger 
the better. The bales, after removing the bags, 
should be laid dovvn close together on the edge. 
Proceed in this manner until the room is filled, all 
except a space near the first machine through 
which it is to pass. Second, card the bags, and 
place the cotton thus removed in a pile by itself 
The reason for laying bales down edgewise instead 
of sidewise, is because the bales were packed in 
that way, and they pick up very much nicer and 
easier from the edge than they do from the side. 
They should be allowed to lie twenty-four hours 
or more after they are taken into the room, before 
any is used. The reason for this is, when the bag 
is first removed the cotton in the bale is damp, and 
this time is necessary for it to dry. In this man- 
ner the top of all the bales will dry down a certain 
distance, become kind of loose and light b}^ exposure 
to dry air, and the cotton works easier. 

Next comes " picking up cotton," in order to 
mix It is impossible to make uniform work in the 
carding-room unless the cotton is well mixed in the 
picker-house, it varies so much in quality, even in 
the same grade ; and it is often the case that two 
or more grades are w^orked together, so that, if all 
the long staple in a certain lot should be worked 
together, then the medium, and lastly the short, 
the ups and downs in the work that follows would 
be intolerable To avoid this it must be mixed in 
the picker-room. It is thought by some that where 
there is double carding, and a large number of 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 17 

breaker cards run into one lap-head^ the cotton is 
mixed in this way, and it is; but this plan can 
never be substituted for mixing in the picker-room. 
To secure good^ uniform work, all kinds must be 
mixed together before it is worked at all. As the 
cotton is picked up, a layer from each bale some 
six, eight, or ten inches deep^ as the case may be 
(enough to last one day), the waste from the card- 
ing-room and spinning-room — one day's waste, or 
all the waste made in these rooms in one day, that 
is calculated to be re-worked in all the machines 
through which the cotton passes — should be mixed 
with it ; also, a portion of the cotton that has been 
carded from the bags; and the whole thrown in a 
pile near the first machine, through which it is to 
pass in preparation 

And here the writer may be allowed to make a 
remark on the manner of re-working waste, as it 
seems to him that a great mistake is made just at 
this point. According to his views of this subject, 
all the working cotton needs is enough to clean 
and straighten the fibre and get it in proper shape 
to spin ; more than this is injurious. Now, if this 
view is correct, what shall we think of taking clean 
waste, such as is made about breaker and finisher 
cards, or single cards, lap-heads^ drawing, roving 
and spinning frames, back to the picking-room and 
mixing it with the new cotton, putting it through 
all the opening machinery, then through all the 
cards and other machinery used in the preparation ? 
What is the effect upon the fibre of this cotton, 
and what is the eflfect of working this waste in the 
usual manner upon the whole work with which it 
is mixed ? It must be most demoralizing, render- 
ing it weak and uneven. If any are desirous of 
knowing exactly how such waste will work when 
it has had a second run through the opener, picker, 

2* 



18 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

breaker and finisher cards, railways and drawing, 
let such an one try a little alone without being 
mixed with new, or any other kind of cotton, and 
he will find out. It will be with great difficulty 
he will be able to pass it along as far as the last 
drawing head; and when it has passed through that 
machine it will utterly refuse to go farther. Take 
up a piece of drawing two feet long, and it will 
drop apart ; it will not hold together to go through 
a speeder — not at all It has had too much work- 
ing, and it must go back to the picker, and a very 
small quantity be mixed with a large quantity of 
new cotton, in order to work it. 

If this is correct, and no one has disputed it, 
such waste should not be re-worked with the new 
cotton. Breaker flyings, and any other dirty waste 
that needs to be re-worked considerably to clean 
it, may and ought to be mixed with the cotton 
when it is picked up. The way to work clean 
waste will be explained in another place. 

When the cotton has been picked up and mixed 
in the manner described above, it is ready to pass 
through the first machine. This first machine 
was formerly in this country, and to some extent 
in England, a cone willow ; such are used now^ in 
some places, and they are a very good kind of 
machine ; may be run at about 350 or 375 revo- 
lutions per minute, and they are capable of taking 
care of as much cotton as an ordinary man can 
stuff through the aperture in the top. They clean 
the cotton very well, and if the delivery is kept 
clear, and the waste underneath is not allowed to 
fill up to the rack, very little injury is done to the 
staple. But if the bin fills up so as to obstruct 
the delivery, then they will string the cotton, or 
as some call it, '' roll the cotton." Keep them 
clear, and they will work very well. 



WILSO^^'S COTTON CARDERS' C0MPANI0:N'. 19 

Some use a stick whipper as the first machine 
for opening cotton. These are excellent machines 
— cheap, effective^ and durable. The speed may be 
from 175 to 200 revolutions of the driving shaft 
per minute. One man will whip 12,000 pounds 
of cotton per day and do it well, too. This ma- 
chine gives cotton a nice preparation for any 
ma^chine that is to follow ; and it is the opinion of 
the writer that cotton should always pass through 
such a machine as this, or some similar machine, 
before it passes through rigid rolls and beaters. 
As cotton comes out of the bale in damp flakes it 
is in no condition for such machinery, and if it is 
passed through such as the first process, it is done 
to the injury of both cotton and machinery. 

The Calvert willow is still in use in some places^ 
and if cotton is first whipped in a stick whipper, 
some 700 or 800 pounds may be nicely willowed 
in one of these machines in a day — that is, if the 
machine is in its original shape. Much fault has 
been found with these machines in times past. It 
has been said that they injure the fibre in many 
ways ; that they make loops, strings, rolls^ nits, 
neps and various kinds of trouble arise from their 
use. And these charges may all be true to some 
extent, and yet it may be more the manner of 
treating the machine than anything else ; for in- 
stance, forcing too much cotton through them will 
produce these results. Owing to the peculiar 
construction of the comb-cylinder, if more cotton 
is crowded through the rolls than this same comb- 
cylinder can take care of properly, it will do it 
improperly. The little grooves in front of each 
comb being filled up entirely full, more than full, 
and kept so, the tendency is to roll and string the 
cotton, instead of loosening out the fibre nicely, 
as it will do when properly fed. 



20 WILSOX'S COTTOX CAEDERS' COMPAXIOX. 

The Merrimack Manufacturing Company greatly 
improved these Calvert willows by building every 
part stronger, putting them together in such a 
manner that any cylinder could be taken out with- 
out taking the whole machine to pieces, putting 
the tooth racks (or bars) on the wooden cylinders 
in spiral form instead of straight across, leaving 
out the third slow tooth-cylinder entirely and rais- 
ing the front of each comb about a sixty-fourth of 
an inch, and making the grooves in front of the 
combs a trifle larger and wider-mouthed. This 
last-mentioned improvement was the first one 
made. It was done by Mr. David Harding, over- 
seer of the picker-house. First, one cylinder was so 
arranged as an experiment, and it was fourjd to 
work so much better that all the others were 
changed, and it led to the other improvements 
mentioned. What this Company did others can 
do if they choose, and they have the benefit of 
such example and experience. Yet, with all these 
improvements, the cry was continued that they 
injured the staple, which was no doubt true in a 
sense, as these machines clean the cotton better 
than any other known machine. It is a logical 
conclusion, that they injure the fibre more than 
any other. They have within a few years past 
mostly been changed for more modern machines. 
But the Merrimack Manufacturing Company keep 
one to clean the waste made by breaker cards. 
One of the machines, improved as above described, 
will clean 2000 pounds per day of ordinary cotton 
very well ; and if the fibre is somewhat injured, it 
will do with less working in machines that follow. 

In most large concerns at the present time 
(1875), old pickers and willows have been re- 
moved, and new and more popular machinery has 
been substituted. The advantages claimed for 






WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 21 



the new machines (whether English or American) 
are — 

1st. They will do more work. From 2500 to 
4000 pounds per day are claimed for most of the 
new openers ; and it is a fact that such quantities 
are being run through them, and the work is tol- 
erably well done. Some of them are named 
'- Duplex/' and others '^ Compound Openers/' be- 
cause they have double feed — two regular sets of 
feed rollers and two feed aprons — the grists of the 
two uniting before they reach the second pair of 
rollers. The product of these machines is calcu- 
lated to be finished on a picker, or lapper, with an 
evener, or self-regulating weight, so that the cotton 
is spread on the double-feed opener aprons without 
being weighed, as a general thing. The author 
has never had personal experience with these ma- 
chines • but, as has been remarked before, ^^ the 
principle remains the same " ; and as the machines 
themselves are not materially different in principle 
from others that have preceded them, they call for 
the same general management. 

2nd. It is claimed that these new openers do 
the work better than the old ones, or, that they 
clean the cotton with less injury to the staple, 
which may be true. It is not for the author of 
this work to say. It is his business to tell how 
to manage any machine without particular refer- 
ence to the merits of the machines themselves. 
The relation of beaters to rollers should in all 
cases be determined by the quantity and quality 
of cotton, and the position they occupy. 

The first beaters should be set at a greater dis- 
tance from the rollers than any of the others that 
follow, for the reason that the grist is heaviest 
there, and the cotton has not previously been 
worked much, and consequently is tough, and 



22 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 

works harder there than at any other point. If 
the feed is very heavy, the first beater should 
clear the rollers three-eighths of an inch, but may 
vary from that to five-sixteenths, according to cir- 
cumstances, and they may be set gradually nearer 
to each set of rollers down to the last pair in the 
finisher-picker, the last one not being allowed to 
run nearer than a tenth or twelfth of an inch. 

The speed of beaters should vary in the same 
manner. They may run at any speed, from 1400 
to 1800 revolutions per minute, according to di- 
ameter or breadth ; the first on lowest speed, and 
the last on highest, for the same reasons that they 
are set at different distances from rollers. It is 
necessary on modern pickers, and an advantage to 
any kind, to have more or less draught. It may 
vary from four to ten in different machines. If there 
are two sets of rollers at any point, as is the case 
in some machines, it is well to have a little draught 
between the two sets, say li to H. The draught of 
a picker, as a whole, may be arranged to suit cir- 
cumstances. The weight of a yard of lap from 
the finisher-picker may range from 6 to 14 ounces. 

Finisher-pickers, or tappers, as they are fre- 
quently called nowadays, are calculated to do 
one-half the work of the modern opener. Two 
finishers are supplied with laps from one opener. 
The laps are usually run three into one ; on old- 
fashioned pickers two into one, and in some cases 
pix3kers are single. 

It is very proper to say that a machine will 
do so much work in a day, or a week. This 
means under ordinary circumstances and average 
kind of cotton. If cotton is very dirty, of course 
it must be worked more than if it is very clean. 
The feed of a picker should be changed to suit the 
quality of cotton, while the beaters and fans may 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 23 

have the same speed for all kinds ; and the draught 
may remain the same. It is better to put cotton 
through two rapid processes than once slowly ; 
that isj it cleans it better^ as much of the dirt in 
cotton is as light as the cotton itself, though not 
as tenacious ; it will rattle out if it has a chance, 
w^hen it could not be knocked or blown out. 

It will be readily seen that modern pickers re- 
quire more draught than old-fashioned ones. It is 
necessary to have a good fan draught in all kinds 
of pickers, not only to rid the cotton of dust, but 
to pack it evenly on the revolving screen cylinders, 
as it passes through the machine. Without this 
arrangement a good, smooth lap cannot be made. 
Most modern pickers have fans attached to their 
own driving gear, and so stop and start w^ith the 
machine. Some annoyance has been experienced 
with this arrangement, where several pickers run 
in the same room and all discharge their dust into 
one dust-room. When one stops it takes the dust 
of others up into the one standing. Mr. Richard 
Kitson, now of the Kitson Machine Company, has 
invented a self-adjusting door at the end of the 
dust-box of each machine, so nicely balanced that 
when the picker starts it opens, and when it stops 
the door shuts. Mr. David Harding has fitted a 
binder to the cone belt which regulates the evener 
on modern machines, and makes them much more 
effective than formerly. The last-named improve- 
ment has been patented and assigned to Richard 
Kitson, Esq. The old-fashioned pickers take care 
of about 800 or 1000 pounds of cotton per day, 
when run single, and when double (that is, as a 
breaker and finisher) double that amount. As a 
general thing double picking is to be preferred to 
single, for the same reasons that double carding 



24 WILSOX'S COTTON^ CARDERS' COMPAKIOX. 

is preferable to single. This subject will be con- 
sidered in a future chapter, on carding. 

A picker^ when everything is in perfect order 
and working all right, makes a round, well-defined 
hum, like a large bumble bee. If the sound of 
the beaters is sharp, like the buzz of a smaller 
insect, it indicates that they are too near the rolls. 
If, on the other hand, the sound is coarse and flut- 
tering, it shows that they are either too far from 
the rolls, or running too slow, or being fed too 
heavily. Of course the sound is not a sure guide, 
but a practised ear will detect a wrong sound very 
quickly. 

And here the author may be allowed to make 
a suggestion perhaps with regard to the proper 
preparation of cotton. It has already been said 
that '^all the woiking cotton needs is enough to 
clean and straighten the fibre ; more than this is 
injurious." If this is a coriect fundamental prin- 
ciple on which to proceed in the preparation of 
cotton (and the author has never heard it ques- 
tioned), then there is a chance for improvement in 
our practice. It is the general custom to take 
all the w^aste from the carding from breaker and 
finisher cards, Lid heads, drawins; and rovinor 
frames, and all kinds of spinning frames, back to 
the picking mill and mix it with the cotton to be 
re-worked^ and put it through all the other pro- 
cesses of preparation. So far as the waste from 
breaker-cards is concerned, that method is all right; 
because that kind of waste is dirty and needs the 
re-working to clean it. But does the waste made 
on finisher-cards — such as top-strippings and fly- 
ings — waste made about a lap head, or where a 
finisher-card breaks down, or waste from a draw- 
ing, roving, or spinning frame — all clean and nice 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 25 

—-do these kinds of waste need all this re-working ? 
Most certainly not. It is a positive injury to it, 
and by such a use of it all the other work is made 
weak. This is the opinion of the author : it can 
be taken for what it is worth. He has never tried 
any other plan, because he has not been situated, 
for several years past, so that he could. If he had 
been working independent of all others, and had 
charge of pickers in connection with his own room, 
he would long ere this have tried another plan. 
As it is. his suggestion is to collect the waste from 
finisher-cards, lap heads, drawing frames, roving 
frames and spinning frames — all clean — carry it 
to the whipper and pass it through that machine 
by itself; then spread it on the apron of a finisher- 
picker and make a lap, to be used on a finisher- 
card. Let it be distinctly understood, that this 
plan is not a revival of the old plan of taking 
waste generally — dirty and clean — back to the 
picker and making a lap for the breaker-card, 
called " a waste card.'' But this plan is recom- 
mended for clean waste, and no other. 

An objection may be raised here, on the ground 
that it is not, or cannot be, well mixed with the 
other cotton by this plan. But let it be remem- 
bered that it had a good mixing the first time it 
was worked. What need of more mixing? But 
it may be objected, again, that it would injure the 
product of the section of cards through which it 
passed, mingling with the work of only ten or 
twelve finisher cards, instead of the whole as now. 
That is true ; but would it injure the work of that 
section, in the manner described, as badly as it 
injures the whole by the old plan, especially when 
roving waste is run through a scratching machine 
and torn all to pieces by the process ? This sug- 



26 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

gestion is thrown in for the consideration of those 
who may deem it worth their while to think of it. 

In the preparation of cotton^like most other kinds 
of business, it is well to make the most of every- 
thing ; and to this end it is a good plan, when 
loose cotton falls down from one story to another 
— as from the willow-room to the picker-room — to 
let it pass over a rack, or fall on a rack, or both, 
as much loose dirt will rattle out in this way and 
may be gotten rid of very cheaply. It would, 
perhaps, astonish a man who never saw it tried, or 
rather, a man who should see it for the first time, 
to see the amount of dirt that will rattle out of 
cotton in this manner; and this is a kind of work- 
ing that does nor injure the staple. 

And here, perhaps, a few remarks on this par- 
ticular subject may be in order. What is meant 
by the term injuring the staple, or fibre, of 
cotton ? Do we understand by it, breaking the 
stnple? That would certainly be an injury; but 
is that what is meant by it ? If it is, there is 
probably very little if any of that kind of injury 
done to cotton in modern carding or picking ma- 
chinery, as the conditions necessary to produ'^e this 
result do not exist, in proper machinery and ordi- 
nary cotton. In order to break the staple, one end 
must be so firmly held between a pair of rollers 
as to resist a sufficient power to break it while so 
held ; and our ordinary cotton does not show staple 
over an inch at the longest, and most of it is shorter 
than that ; while in modern opening and picking 
machinery the gripping and pounding, or scratching, 
powers are two inches apart in most cases. When 
it is understood that the fibres lie in all directions 
at this stage — as often crosswise as lengthwise of 
the machine — we must conclude that there is not 



WILSON^S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 27 

milch staple broken in this way, or in fact in any 
other way in any ordinary machinery at this date. 
Probably our cotton is not injured in that manner, 
viz : by breaking the staple. Most all our common 
grades of cotton vary considerably in length of 
staple, or rather, the staple varies considerably in 
the same lot, even while in the boll, and if we look 
sharp we shall find nearly all lengths, from one- 
fourth of an inch to an inch in length in the bale, 
and at almost every stage in the process of work- 
ing; but we shall find that the proportion of short 
growls less as we advance, instead of increasing. 
Much of it finds its way into waste, in various 
ways. It is knocked out by the whipper, opener 
and willow, by the beaters, by card-teeth, and after 
it gets out into open air, as in drawing, roving and 
spinnin'g frames, much of it is thrown off by cen- 
trifugal force. The air is full of it. After a while 
it settles on the roller-beams and flyer-plates and 
on the floor, while the long staple is held in place 
and goes along in the work. 

The author of these pages is of the opinion that 
w^e do not break the staple, at the present time, if 
we ever did, in working. But the question, ^* Do 
we injure it ? " still continues. No doubt every 
process that cotton passes through, in preparation 
for spinning, wears it more or less — frets the ends 
of the fibre, strains and weakens it in a degree, and 
it is a necessity ; there is no getting rid of it, if we 
clean and straighten the fibre, as we must do if we 
would have good, smooth yarn. 

But in this, as in most other kinds of business, 
there is a lest way to do it ; and the best way is to 
work as little as possible and accomplish our object. 
In the opinion of the author it is not the best way 
to carry clean cotton (waste made on cards, draw- 
ing, roving and spinning frames) back to the open- 



28 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANION. 

ing room and put it through all the machines that 
the raw cotton passes through ; but the best way 
would be to get it into a lap as quickly and easily as 
possible, put it on a finisher card, and in that man- 
ner mix it with the other cotton. 

Again : it is not the best way to run roving 
waste through an extra process beforehand. It is 
more than probable that a great saving of fibre 
could be made by a different mcde of operation 
with regard to our clean waste and dirty waste, 
too, perhaps ; but the question of dirty w^aste w^ill 
be more fully discussed in the chapter on carding. 

One thing more in this connection : The fibre of 
cotton may be injured by being subjected to the 
action of beaters and rolls. As it first comes from 
the bale in damp flakes, it is then too solid to re- 
ceive such blows ; it should be run through h stick- 
w^hipper, or something equivalent, to loosen it out 
a little ; then beaters won't hurt it. 

The modern picker is a machine which while at 
work challenges the admiration of the beholder at 
once. Receiving a lot of loose, disconnected, dirty 
cotton, and turning out a smooth, even sheet, compar- 
itively clean, and nicely winding it on a roll ready 
to be handled at the pleasure of the operator, 
seems almost like magic to those who are unac- 
quainted with the particulars of the plan of opera- 
tions. The writer was once showing some company 
through the mills, and while explaining the work 
of the picker and remarking that in this process 
the cotton was separated from the dirt, one lady 
asked the question — " How does this machine know 
dirt from cotton?" This question of course raised 
a laugh ; but it was, and is, a fair question. How 
does it know? Has the machine intelligence? No : 
but the builders had ; and by employing the ele- 
ments, and making use of the laws of nature in its 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDEKS' COMPANION. 29 

construction and operation, the desired results are 
produced. By a strong fan draught the cotton, as 
it passes through the weighted rolls towards the 
beater, is held up against its blades and receives 
the full force of each succeeding blow ; and by 
these blows from the beater blade the heavy dirt, 
seeds, etc., are driven down through the rack under- 
neath, or over the " throat piece," as the case may 
be ; but the cotton and light dust are drawn for- 
ward by the fan draught; and cotton is packed on 
the wire cylinders, the dust is drawn through them 
and finds its way into the dust-room, while the cot- 
ton here receives its first shape in form of a lap, 
and passes on through a succession of rolls, beaters 
and cylinders until it is wound up in convenient 
form to be placed on other pickers, to pass through 
the same process again, and come out in a condi- 
tion to be placed on a card. The credit of this 
machine, in its present form, is not due any one 
man, or two, or three^ but has come into being 
through a succession of efforts by different men 
for many years. One man has conceived some- 
thing in his own brain that would improve it in one 
particular, at one time ; another, something else at 
another time ; and yet there is room. 

Like most other machines there is still a chance 
for improvement ; and there are men now at work 
in this direction, with as much zeal as any w^ho 
have preceded them in the same kind of business, 
and their labors are being crowned with as much 
success. Among the indefatigable laborers in this 
direction may be mentioned Richard Kitson, Esq., 
who has been engaged in the business for the last 
twenty years, and has brought out a machine, or 
rather a set of machines (openers and lappers), 
equal to any of this class in the country; and still 
he is at work on improvements. Mr. Kitson for- 
2* 



30 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMP ANION. 

merly did business on his individual account^ but it 
increased to such an extent that it became necessary 
to form a company, and such a company was formed 
in July, 1875, with a large capital. Mr. Kitson is 
president, and S. E. Stott treasurer and agent. The 
company are now at work on an improved opener. 
It differs somewhat from their deservedly popular 
compound opener. Instead of the double feed 
(two aprons and two sets of rolls and beaters) the 
cotton is taken from the bale, and after being 
mixed, is placed on two narrow aprons, each half 
the width of ihe opener frame, and run side by side 
with a partition between. When it arrives at the 
frame, it drops a little over the end of the aprons, 
then turns a sharp corner, half to the right and the 
other half to the left, and is facilitated in this 
movement by a little rough roller and a strong fan 
draught, up to an arch-like entrance into what ap- 
pears like entering the end of a cylindrical-shaped 
box above the centre. Inside this same cylindrical- 
shaped box are two wrought-iron circular plates^ 
running side by side, and close together, and in 
opposite directions. One is a little smaller than 
the other. These plates are armed with wrought- 
iron bars firmly riveted in a circle not far from the 
edge of each, so that the arms of the larger plate 
project over the edge of the smaller one ; the 
smaller plate has a similar circle of bars or arms, 
the two forming circles of projecting bars, one in- 
side the other, a few inches apart, and running in 
opposite directions, all projecting towards the en- 
trance where they receive the cotton, which is held 
up to their ends by a strong fan draught until the 
fibre is somewhat loosened out ; and as it becomes 
loose it enters the box, receives considerable of a 
stirring up between these double sets of bars, and 
is passed along to the beater in the usual manner. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 31 

This new arrangement is called an Atmospheric 
Opener. The speed is about 700 revolutions per 
minute. 

The first beater in this machine is also 'a new 
invention. It is a three-knife beater^ but instead 
of the blades running straight through, from one 
end to the other, in the ordinary manner, they are 
put on in three sections. The whole thing per- 
fectly balanced and dealing continuous blows, runs 
very steadily, with less jar than is usually made by 
beaters. Another new thing about this beater is 
that the arms, instead of being drilled through the 
shaft, as is common, are so arranged by means of 
collars and packing boxes, that they will yield a 
little when they come in contact with anything 
unusually thick or solid. This is called a Sectional 
Elastic Beater. It runs abort 1200 revolutions 
per minute. The Company have one of these new 
openers at work in the Boott Cotton Mills. It is 
claimed by the inventors that this opener will do 
its work in a satisfactory manner, with less severity 
of action on the fibres of cotton than any other 
modern opener. The action is similar to that of 
the old " stick whipper." It certainly commends 
itself to the judgment of the writer, as it is his 
opinion that cotton from the bale should not be 
subjected to the action of rolls and beaters as the 
first process. This new opener has come to the 
knowledge of the writer since he commenced this 
chapter ; and the new invention, together with the 
fact that he has for the last two or three years used 
laps made on the Kitson picker (the Merrimack 
Manufacturing Company, at Lowell, have adopted 
the Kitson machines within that time, excluding all 
other lappers), must be his apology for this digres- 
sion. A good, even, clean, well-wound lap is a very 
essential starting-point in carding ; and that ma- 



32 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

chinej or set of machines, that will produce this re- 
sult with the least wear and tear of fibre, is the most 
desirable. 

With all opening and picking machinery, it is 
necessary to set everything properly and firmly, 
and to keep machines in order. They need the 
constant, watchful care of a living man, and he 
should be wide awake and active. 

There is some danger of fire in a picker-house, 
and as the material is so very combustible, it is 
necessary to be constantly on the watch. Most 
picker-houses and carding-rooms are amply pro- 
vided with facilities for extinguishing fire, and cer- 
tainly all should be. Many have sprinkler pipes 
running all over the building, that may instantly 
be filled wuth water and produce a showier all over 
the room. It has sometimes occurred to the writer 
that there should be some unmistakable mark by 
which any one at a glance may see whether the 
sprinkler gate is open or shut, as it sometimes 
happens in case of fire that one man opens the 
sprinkler gate, and immediately another man, not 
knowing that any one has preceded him, thinks he 
opens it when he shuts it instead. Another dis- 
covers that the gate is not open, and so he proceeds 
to open it; and by the time the water begins to | 
flow through it the second time, the pipe has be- « 
come red hot, and is broken as the cold water 
strikes it, and the use of the sprinkler is lost for I 
that time, when if there had been some plan of the | 
above description the property might have been " 
saved. 

In case of fire in the picking or carding depart- 
ment, what is most needed is very prompt action. 
Suppose a spark of fire drops from a bearing over- 
head on to the floor among loose fibres of cotton. 
Some one sees it. If he stops to get a pail of water, 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 33 

or to go after a blanket some distance away, by the 
time he gets back there will be likely to be more 
fire than he can manage, either with a blanket or 
a pail of water. The most effective means of ex- 
tinguishing a little fire, when it first strikes cotton, 
is to smother it; grab it right up in the hand quick 
as thought, then it may be carried to a pail of water 
at leisure and submerged. If fire is discovered in- 
side a frame or box, or any other enclosed place, don't 
open the doors until you have something in readi- 
ness to extinguish it with. Get the water and the 
blankets ready first, in that case. Fire will not 
burn much without air, and a little air sometimes 
helps to spread it most wonderfully. 

Gas pipes should be brushed off clean every even- 
ing before lighting up, as the loose fibres of cotton 
that are continually flying around the room some- 
times gather on gas burners and pipes in sufficient 
quantities to make a fire, if a blaze comes in con- 
tact with them. 



CHAPTER III. 
Carding. 

GENERAL REMARKS — CLOTHING CARDS — POWKR REQUIRED FOR 
FILLETS — HOW TO ASCERTAIN IT — TOPS — DIFFERENT KINDS 
OF CLOTHING — GRINDING: OLD STYLE — IMPROVEMENTS: HOW 
MADE — PARKER GRINDER — FURTPIER IMPROVEMENTS SUG- 
GESTED — grinders: how to MAKE TRUE AND STRAIGHT — 
HOW TO CLOTHE A GRINDER — GRINDING CARDS — CARD 
CLOTHING RISING — HOW THEY ACT — HOW TO CURE — SET- 
TING UP CARDS — THE QUANTITY — DOUBLE OR SINGLE CARD- 
ING — DISTRIBUTING DRAWING IN RAILWAYS — STRIPPING 
CARDS — SCREENS — SPEED OF MAIN CYLINDERS — LICKER- 
INS — DRAUGHT OF CARDS — GRINDING — CLOTHING GRINDERS 

— OLD EMERY — RE-CLOTHING CARDS — PATCHING UP — 
WASHING CARDS — IMPROVEMENTS IN CARDS — A NEW GUIDE 

— WORKING WASTE. 

However nicely cotton may be opened and pre- 
pared in laps, it needs carding; of course the nicer 
the preparation in the shape of opening and pick- 
ing, the less carding it needs ; but it must have 
some. Picking is a kind of wholesale business, as 
compared with carding. It has in this process been 
handled by the lump ; it must now be handled more 
in detail; individual fibres must be attended to, and 
nothing but properly adjusted card teeth will do 
this. As this process is one of the most important, 
if not the most important, process cotton passes 
through in its preparation, it will be dwelt on in 
all its particulars. Remarks on machinery in the 
first chapter of this work should here be borne in 
mind. 

Before any card cylinders are clothed, they should 
each be covered with good, stout, even cotton cloth, 
put on perfectly smooth, either with thin glue or 
size. After they have had time to dry, the little 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 35 

black specks and other nubs should either be shaved 
off with a sharp knife, or hammered down smooth ; 
then the cylinder is ready for the clothing. A 
breaker main cylinder should be clothed with cloth- 
ing stuck with No. 32 wire, in well-tanned and 
nicely prepared leather, A No. 1 in quality. There 
is very little danger of drawing sheets on a main 
cylinder too tight. When they are new, of course 
such a thing is not impossible ; but where this is 
the case once, it will probably be the other w^ay a 
hundred times. Nothing is more discouraging to 
a carder, or injurious to owners, than to have card 
clothing " huff*" or rise, in a few months after it is 
put on, and necessitate " drawing over." It is a 
waste of time, a disagreeable job, loss of the work 
of cards, expensive, as well as keeping the grinders 
from their legitimate business, and it is destructive 
to clothing. After a main cylinder has been drawn 
over its death warrant is signed ; the next thing 
that may be looked for is breaking out, and a kind 
of breaking out that continues until it becomes 
necessary to remove the clothing and put on new. 
As a general thing sheets should be drawn when 
new as hard as the leather will bear. Of course 
drawing over is sometimes necessary, and whep it 
is so it must be attended to, and then be careful 
and not draw too tight. Remember, the stretch is 
out of the leather now, and it must be dealt with 
gently or immediate breaking out may be expected. 
Draw easy the second time. 

Fillets, with which d offers, licker-ins, and some- 
times main cylindeis, are clothed^ work very differ- 
ently from sheets They are continually working 
loose. When they are at work they go one way, 
and while grinding they go the other. It is possible 
to draw a doffer on too tight ; and if they are so 
drawn they will be very likely to break out more 



36 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

or less while grinding. It is well to draw a doffer 
twice in clothing ; that is, nail one end, and wind 
the fillet on loosely ; then wind it back on the drum ; 
then apply weight enough to the friction strap to 
make about forty-eight pounds' power or strain on 
the fillet, and in this manner carefully wind it on 
the doffer cylinder ; then reverse and wind back 
on the drum, keeping it tort all the while. Before 
winding on the last time, reduce the power to about 
thirty-six pounds. The first winding with power 
takes the stretch out of the leather, and the second 
with thirty-six pounds' power will be tight enough 
to grind well ; and it has been found by the author 
that doffer fillets put on in the manner described 
will run longer without becoming loose than they 
will put on in any other way. When a doffer runs 
loose, as the^^ are likely to do, it will generally be 
detected at the end of the cylinder while being 
ground. Two or three coils may be drawn over by 
hand and make the w^hole thing all right, as the re- 
mainder wnll frequently be light enough w^hile the 
end may be loose. But if there is a general ap- 
pearance of being loose all over — edges huffing, 
with an inclination to rise, either while at work or 
grinding — then take it out of the card and put it 
in the machine and draw it all over, applying about 
twenty-eight pounds of powder ; not more for an old 
doffer. 

The power, or resistance, of a drum may be as- 
certained in the following manner : Put the fric- 
tion strap over the pulley and weight it; then wind 
a few coils of narrow belting, or a small cord, round 
the drum, confined to it at one end, and let the 
loose end hang over in the direction that the fillet 
will draw ; then, by means of hooks, attach weight 
to it — 28, 36, or 48 as desired, and remove the 
weight from the friction strap until the drum moves. 



wilso:n^'s cottok caedehs' compaoton. 37 

allowing the same weight to remain on the friction 
strap while winding the doffer fillet from the drum 
to the cylinder ; and this weighing of power mnst 
be repeated often, as the same weight and strap are 
not sure to give the same power on two different 
days, owing to a diflFerent state of the atmosphere. 
Licker-ins, if the fillets are set with diamond wire 
and need no grinding, may be drawn as tight as 
the leather will bear. The teeth seldom break out. 
If they are set with round wire, and consequently 
must be. ground, the same plan recommended for 
doffers may be pursued with them. 

Tops, before they are clothed, should be carefuly 
jointed, and the plates set out of wind ; and when 
old clothing is removed, before new is put on, they 
should go through the same process, as wood can- 
not be depended on to stay exactly w^here it is left 
year after year. Top clothing needs very little 
drawing. No ratchet, or treadle, is necessary. A 
weight of from 6 to 9 pounds, according to cir- 
cumstances, may be attached to the strap running 
through the levers of the clothing pliers, and is 
sufficient, convenient and gives the clothing a uni- 
form drawing. If there is thin, or spongy, leather, 
it will of course draw down a little more ; but never 
mind ; it is of more importance to have the cloth- 
ing properly drawm than it is to have a nice, straight 
edge simply to look at; and the same is true of 
all other sheet clothing, whether it be main cylin- 
ders, tops, or strip cards ; and strip cards need less 
drawling than tops, because the leather is thinner 
and the teeth not so closely set, and they do the 
work of stripping better to be a little loose. Every 
class of cards, and every card, should be carefully 
set up after the clothing is finished, whether it is 
to be ground or not, as teeth that are out of place 
are rather a damage than a benefit to any card. 

4 



38 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

The clothing for tops on a breaker should be set 
with different sized wire, according to position. — 
Nos. 1 and 2, No. 29 wire; Nos. 3 and 4, No. 30 
wire ; Nos. 5 and 6 with No. 31 wire, and the re- 
mainder with No. 32 wire — same as main cylinder 
and doffer. A licker-in should be set with No. 26 
diamond wire. When cards are clothed with fillets, 
a scraper should be run round between the coils, to 
make sure that there is no lapping of one coil on 
the edge of another. 

All the above has reference to leather clothing ; 
theie are many other materials used to set card 
teeth besides leather ; but as these vary so much — 
some very good, and others very poor ; some giving 
no trouble whatever, and others always troublesome 
— no general rules can be given ; the carder must- 
be governed by circumstances. 

GRINDING. 

After clothing comes grinding ; and there are 
about as many different opinions as to the best 
method of grinding as there are different men who 
have this business in charge. That this branch has 
been greatly improved, within the last thirty years, 
no one who has had experience in it will deny; and 
the end is not yet. Many of our impiovements 
were discovered by accident, or were brought about 
by the force of circumstances Under the old sys- 
tem, when the driving pulley on the main cylinder 
was 24 inches in diameter, the driven pulley on the 
grinder 2 inches, and the speed of the main cylin- 
der 120 revolutions per minute (making the speed 
of the fancy grinder 1440 revolutions in the same 
space of time): those were days thal^ tried men's 
patience and sadly injured cards. It used to re- 
quire from four to six weeks to grind a new card ; 
then two or three days must be spent in ^^strickling," 



WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPAJS'ION. 39 

to take the barb off the points of the teeth, and it 
was poorly done at that ; for when cards were new, 
it was expected that they would have a ^^ wire edge," 
as it used to be called. They did not card well, 
strip well, or do anything well. When cards of a 
more modern plan began to be introduced, with 
driving pulle}' on the main cylinder 16 inches in- 
stead of 24, we used to grind better, quicker, and 
our cards worked better, stripped better and were 
better, in every way. The speed of the grinder 
was reduced by this arrangement from 1440 to 960 
revolutions per minute. 

But was this change made for that purpose? 
Probably it was not ; but it did benefit us in that 
particular. Probably few carders ever attributed 
it to slower speed. The author of this work 
did not. When the Parker traverse grinder was 
introduced it was found, by actual trial, that one of 
this kind (7 inches in length, instead of 37 inches 
— the length of the fancy roller grinder) would' 
grind a card much quicker and in a more satisfac- 
tory manner than the fancy grinder ever had done 
the same work. Carders began to inquire into the 
reason for this. Something was claimed for the 
new kind of traverse, and something belonged 
there, no doubt ; but it was evident that the new 
traverse should not be credited with the whole im- 
provement. There was something else to be taken 
into account : and that something else was the 
comparative low speed of the Parker grinder. It 
had a 5 inch driven pulley instead of a 2 inch, 
making the speed 576 revolutions per minute on 
the 24 inch driver and 384 with a 16 inch driver. 
Probably Mr. Parker never thought that slow speed 
would facilitate grinding ; but, on the other hand, 
it is very likely he made calculation to drive his 
grinder as fast as it could be driven, consistent with 



40 WILSON'S COTTON CARDEKS' COMPANION. 

its construction. Happy for him and all manufac- 
turers, it would not admit of the old-fashioned high 
speed ; and to this fact alone much of its superi- 
ority over the old, long grinder may be justly at- 
tributed. This is not all : We have learned to 
drive all kinds of grinders slower than formerly, 
and we are constantly reaping the advantages 
which this system affords. And have we, at this 
date, arrived at perfection in this particular? Who 
shall say we have ? Perhaps from 350 to 400 
revolutions per minute is slow enough to drive a 
5 inch grinder ; but it has been the opinion of the 
author, for some years past, that we might make 
another equally valuable improvement by driving 
our cylinders slower and allowing the grinder to 
retain its present speed. In nearly all other kinds 
of grinding and polishing, with either emer}^ or 
stone, the emery roll, or stone, is driven at high 
speed, and the article to be ground, or polished, is 
driven slow. How is it with grinding spindles, or 
other iron and steel rods, or cylinders, with a stone 
or emery ? The grinder moves ftist, and the article 
to be ground moves slow. Why should grinding 
cards be an exception to all other kinds of grind- 
ing ? Can any one tell ? 

Several years ago the author experimented con- 
siderably in this particular. In 1866 he had an 
extra stud fastened in a large plate and the plate 
fixed to the frame of a card about to be ground, 
and on the stud were two sets of pulleys — one set 
driven from the main shaft overhead, and the 
other set smaller, which drove the main cylinder, 
thus reducing the speed of cylinder while grind- 
ing ; and the result was that cards ground by the 
slower process were ground better, worked better 
and gave better satisfaction in every vvay. He is 
still experimenting; he has not yet arrived at a 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 41 

point where he can say, '' Eureka/' but he is satis- 
fied that a slower speed, at some point below where 
we now grind cylinders, would be beneficial. 

A small counter-shaft might be placed immedi- 
ately over the card, from which the cylinder, dofFer 
and grinder could be driven at any desired speed. 
The present pattern of the Hardy grinder, with the 
small pulley on the screw, necessitating a tight belt, 
often causes a little jump in the grinder when the 
lacing, or hooks, pass over it. The remedy is a 
large pulley, both driving and driven. Care should 
be taken, in adjusting any kind of a grinder to a 
card, to have all the nuts and bolts thoroughly 
screwed up, so that the grinder may remain firm 
in place while grinding. If it gets loose, it makes 
very bad work in a short time. 

The first step towards good grinding is a good 
grinder, properly made, perfectly true and straight, 
and perfectly balanced. If it lacks any of these 
qualities it will not be a good grinder. Grinders 
constructed of tin are seldom quite round. To make 
them so, first paint and let it dry. Prepare a leather 
fillet three fourths of an inch wide and fix it on 
the grinder with glue, giving the fillet all the strain 
it will bear. When it has had time to dry, place 
in a frame and run it in its own bearings or boxes, 
and drive it with its own pulley at a high speed — 
as high as it is calculated to run while grinding. 
Fix a rest its entire length ; then with a sharp 
chisel, or plain iron regulated by a guard outside 
the rest, turn it off round and straight ; paint the 
leather, let it dry, and repeat until the grain is 
filled and the surface smooth. When this is ac- 
complished, put on a coat of old copal varnish and 
wind it with twine, while the varnish is green. 
After it is dry it is ready for the emery. A grinder 
prepared in this manner will last years, if care is 

4* 



42 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

taken with it. Especially be careful not to let it 
lie long in hot water^ in removing a coat of emery. 

All kinds of grinders should be painted and 
wound with twine previous to clothing with emery, 
whether they need any leather or not; and the 
twine should be wound into green varnish in all 
cases. The best emery for clothing grinders is 
No. 10 English emery ; and only one coat should 
be put on at any one covering. No sizing should 
be used on a coat of emery, if it is desired to have 
it grind well. If it is sized, it will soon glaze over 
and become an old, worthless grinder, while it 
should and would be a good, effective one without 
any size. 

It is sometimes said by carders that their ^'^ emery 
won't stick" without sizing. [See recipe for making 
glue in Chapter Sixth.] 

In covering a grinder everything should be in 
readiness beforehand, so that there may be no delay 
after the work of clothing has commenced, and it 
is better to have help enough to rush it a little. 
Spread the glue evenly over the surftice of the 
grinder and put the emery on copiously, keeping 
the grinder moving slowly all the time. After the 
emery is all on, roll it with an iron roller and keep 
the grinder moving slowly round for a half-hour or 
more after the clothing is all over. This prevents 
the glue from settling down on the lower side of 
the grinder, as it Vv'ill surely do if left at rest im- 
mediately after the emery is put on. A grinder 
should be allowed to dry 48 hours after being cov- 
ered before using. When first started hold a piece 
of pine wood on it, to knock off any high kernels 4 
of emery that may adhere to it. " 

It is important in grinding cards to have good 
men to attend to it, as well as good grinders and 
grinding machines ; both are called grinders — ma- 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 43 

chines and men. A man in order to be a good 
grinder must have good eyes and quick ears^ 
especially the latter^ as much depends on hearing 
in adjusting a grinder properly. He must be a 
man of a mechanical turn of mind, and must be 
interested in his work. The best grinders are those 
who commence to work about cards in youth and 
are promoted from one position to another until 
they are promoted to grinders. In this manner 
they may, and do, acquire a sort of general knowl- 
edge of the business before actually entering upon 
it that is almost indispensable. A new hand — a 
man who comes from outside, from other business — 
will rarely make as good a grinder as one who has 
been brought up in the carding-room. 

The time required to grind a new card, or an old 
one, depends upon circumstances. If the cylinders 
are perfectly true and in balance, the grinder good, 
properly applied and the clothing even, it will grind 
very quick — sometimes in 10 or 15 hours. If any 
of these good qualities are lacking, it will take 
longer, and in proportion to the deficiency. When 
the cylinders are out of true, or out of balance, as 
is often the case, it will and often does take from 
five to twenty times as long to grind a new card 
as it would if all were right. And that is not the 
worst feature of it : in such a case one side of the 
cylinder is often necessarily ground more the first 
time than would be necessary to grind it in ten 
years if it had been true and balanced. Good, nice 
cards are injured and often break out the first 
time grinding for the above reason, and no other. 
But they must be ground until all the parts are 
finished. 

There are other causes of cards breaking out 
besides being out of true, or out of balance. The 
wire of which the clothing is made may be poor ; 



44 WILSON'S COTTON CAEDERS' COMPANION. 

there may be a hard splice in the leather; they 
may be ground too hard or too long, as they often 
are. Some of these causes the carder has no 
control over, and knows nothing of until the 
results appear ; and when they appear, they must 
be met as best they can. But a carder should 
insist on having his cylinders true and balanced, 
on having good clothing, and grind no longer or 
harder than is necessary. 

Sometimes card clothing rises and causes great 
vexation. There used to be an opinion that there 
was something mysterious about this matter — 
something that could not be explained or even 
understood. Rising is not confined to any partic- 
ular kind of clothing or cylinders. Sheets, fillets, 
main cylinders and doffers, all rise, or are liable to 
rise, and one as much as another. Bur different 
kinds require different treatment. When sheets 
rise, they must be drawn over ; there is no other 
cure. It is sometimes curious to see a little patch 
rise in a sheet when all the rest of the teeth are 
down in their places — perhaps two or three little 
patches ; it may be half-a-dozen, more or less — in 
some instances only a few teeth in a place. When 
this is the case, the high teeth are forced back with 
a card-brush, a gauge, and sometimes with a piece 
of soft pine board ; and then the cylinder is turned 
by hand or started very carefully, until filled with 
cotton ; afterwards they will sometimes run until 
another grinding. At other times, this has to be 
repeated until the patience of the grinder is ex- 
hausted, and he calls his overseer or the second 
hand ; and the two, and sometimes three, work for 
hours together to get a card of this kind started. 
There may be a little refractory group of teeth 
that will rise every time the cylinder is started 
until the operators are all worked up into a fever. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDEKS' COMPANION. 45 

when perhaps an excited carder takes a hammer 
and pounds them down solid and walks away to 
his bench, declaring there is something mysterious 
about card-teeth rising ; that he never saw any one 
who could explain it ; he don't believe that any- 
body knows or ever will know why it is. 

A main cylinder clothed with a fillet will some- 
times act about as bad, and the same is sometimes 
true of a dofFer. The author of this work has 
had experience in all these kinds of rising ; and 
although he has sometimes been terribly tried, he 
never pounded down any card-teeth with a ham- 
mer ; but he has set himself at work to find the 
cause, and after a long and diligent search found 
it, and is now able to cure every case with com- 
parative ease. But he prefers preventive to 
cure. If main cylinders clothed with sheets are 
drawn tight enough, when first put on, they will 
seldom rise ; if they do, they must be drawn over^ 
as teeth are liable to rise if the leather is loose ; 
hit they can never rise if it is tight. The author 
once clothed .some cards in a hurry with clothing 
made in a hurry, and poor stock at that, as it 
proved. These cards (especially main cylinders) 
after being ground round about three times began 
to rise in the most annoying manner. The grinder 
was directed to remove the tacks from the back of 
a sheet that was in trouble of this kind, and do it 
so carefully as not to disturb the teeth, and allow 
a peep to be taken at the underside, to ascertain 
exactly how they looked and what position they 
were in. This peep explained the whole mystery. 
First, the leather was loose and had risen up by 
centrifugal force ; second, some of the teeth went 
up with it, retaining their position; third, the 
leather had slipped up on other teeth and left 
them, the lower ends resting on the cylinder ; 



46 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 

fourth, the teeth that were set tight enough in the 
leather to retain their original position were the 
ones that we supposed had risen, and those that 
lay on the cylinder seemed as they usually appear 
when they are all right. 

It will be readily understood that drawing over 
is the only remedy ; but it should be carefully 
done ] there is danger of drawing cards too tight 
the second time. If the teeth all retain their 
places in the leather, then it is said that the sheets 
huff up, and there is no mistake about it. Such 
readily show when they need drawing over. There 
is another trouble with sheets : sometimes there 
will be a spot in the middle huffed up when all the 
rest of it seems to be right; and it is frequently 
the case that such sheets are drawn over and the 
trouble continues. Such cases are usually caused 
by a soft or spongy spot in the leather, and the 
rest all firm ; in such cases the drawing over does 
not affect it. When this occurs search out the 
boundary line of the soft spot in the leather; draw 
out a row of teeth on either side; slit it up with a 
knife ; then draw that particular place, and the 
trouble is cured. 

Fillets will rise occasionally when they seem to 
be tight enough, and are tight enough, and the 
cause of the rising is, they crowd. Cloth fillets 
are more apt to do so than leather, but the latter 
is not entirely free from it. A strip of cloth or 
leather, either by frequent pulling or straining, gets 
loose on the edges, and when two edges come 
together there is a tendency to rise ; and these are 
often drawn over without removing the evil. When 
a fillet acts in that manner, draw over lightly and 
lay it apart ; let a thin piece of iron run between 
the edges as it is being drawn, and the trouble 
will disappear. 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 47 

Cards having been once ground down need but 
little grinding at any one time afterwards, unless 
they get jammed, faced, have to be drawn over or 
something unusual happens to them. The old plan 
used to be to grind about so long any way. Some 
used to grind two days, others a day and a half, and 
others still a day. This plan is all wrong. The 
more a card is ground, after it has been brought 
to the right condition (that is, the teeth ground to 
a point) the worse. They may need to be ground 
an hour or two, perhaps three hours, but never 
grind a minute after the teeth have been brought 
to a sharp point. It is difficult to grind too often^ 
but very easy to grind too long. C^dinders do not 
usually suffer so much from over-grinding as do 
tops, as they are ground on a more scientific plan. 
The cylinder moves quickly and the card moves 
slowly over it, and as a consequence they grind 
faster, and before Xhe grinder is aware of it they 
are often — yes, almost always — ground too much. 
The writer has seen tops spoiled in a few months^ — 
ground down to the knee. Grinders should bo 
constantly cautioned about grinding tops. Sliding 
across the grinding cylinder about a half-dozen 
times is sufficient, as a general rule. It is well to 
have two grinding machines set close together^ 
where it is practicable to do so, and require each 
grinder to run two while grinding a set of tops. 
They will usually grind, in this manner, about as 
fast as they can be changed. Licker-ins, if set 
with diamond wire, need no grinding, unless they 
get badly faced. 

In setting a card up ready for work, first clean 
it nicely — then set the doffer as near as it will run 
without touching the main cylinder and secure it 
firmly, so that it will not get out of place while at 
work. Next set the tops, commencing with those 



48 WILSON'S COTTOX CAKDERS' COMPANIO:^". 

nearest the dofFer. The proper way to set tops is. 
to set the front twice the distance from the cylinder 
that the back is set ; this plan brings the nearest 
point about two-thirds from front to back^ and this 
part should be set as close as it will run, down to 
'No. 5, and from there to No. 1 set off a very little 
farther ; in other words, tops should be set so that 
they will fill even. If it is found that they load 
too heavily on the front, raise them a little ; and on 
the other hand, if the fronts fill scant, lower them. 
Care should be taken to have every top set square 
on all the screws^ so that there may be no rocking. 
If workers and strippers are used, they should be 
set as near as they will run without touching, and 
the same of licker-ins. On a finisher-card the top 
feed roller should be set as close to the cylinder as 
it will run, and no play should be allowed to the 
caps in the roll stands. On breakers, where licker- 
ins are used, set the bottom roll the nearest — the 
same as a top roll in a finisher. 

When everything has been adjusted ready to 
start, turn the cylinder backwards by hand to make 
sure that it don't come in contact with anything 
about it This precaution will save many a card 
being faced, as it takes but a short time when a 
cylinder is running at full speed (points first) and 
rubs the dofFer, tops or rollers, to spoil the points, 
and the work of grinding has been all lost in that 
case ; and worse than that, it has sustained a per- 
manent injury. Set combs just near enough to 
clear the doffer. 

THE AMOUNT OF WORK FOR A CARD. 

As to the quantity of cotton a card will work 
in a day, there are, perhaps, more opinions than 
about any other one question. We find them 
carding from 80 to 160 pounds, under different 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 49 

circumstances and conditions according to the kind 
of card used and the kind of work to be made. 
There is also a great difference in the amount 
carded with the same machines, and the same kind 
of work in different places and under different 
management. The question whether it is best to 
card cotton once or twice is still unsettled and 
open for discussion. There are many very strong 
advocates of the former plan, and perhaps just as 
many and just as strong advocates of the latter 
plan. Many manufacturing establishments have 
changed from single to double carding, and perhaps 
an equal number have changed from double to 
single ; and still others which have changed back 
and forth more than once, while some have both 
kinds at work. With all these trials cotton manu- 
facturers as a class are undecided which plan is 
best. There are individuals, and some manufac- 
turing concerns, who think they have settled the 
question so far as they are concerned ; and no 
doubt they have. But as some have settled it one 
way, and others another, the inquirer is still in the 
fog, because each party who thinks he has settled 
the question claims that his way is right and 
that the others must be wrong, so the discussion 
goes on. 

Perhaps a little reflection on the part of those 
interested would go far towards solving this prob- 
lem. If the position assumed in this work is 
correct, viz : that cotton needs to be worked just 
enough to clean and straighten it, and no more^ 
the question naturally arises at this point — Are 
we carding cotton too much now ? If we are, it 
is a very easy matter to card less, or rather, put 
more cotton through a card than we are now do- 
ing ; and this can be carried to any desired ex- 
tent without resorting to single carding. On th^ 

5 



50 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

other hand, if we are not carding cotton enough 
to accomplish the desired result, we can put a less 
quantity through each card, though of course this 
latter plan would call for nnore cards. 

Are we carding cotton too much ? Let the 
cloth answer. Are there not black specks enough 
in it ? If w^e find by examination that there are 
not, we can increase them by carding heavier — 
giving each card more work to do — and it matters 
but little whether it is single or double carding, 
but the little diiference that it does make is in 
favour of double carding. By the double process 
w^e get a better mixing, which is certainly an ad- 
vantage if that w^as all. But it is not ; for by the 
double carding process we reverse the fibre and 
operate on both ends instead of one ; and that is 
a second advantage over the single process. The 
author is aware that some of our English friends 
advocate as little reversing of staple as possible in 
the process of preparation ; but he is not yet con- 
vinced that this theory is correct — indeed he is 
strongly of the opposite opinion, and has arrived 
at this conclusion after a fair trial of both plans. 
Moreover, he is of the opinion that w^hoever will 
give this matter a fair and impartial trial will 
come to the same conclusion. 

The contrast betw^een double and single carding 
is best seen in the yarn and cloth ; and let it be 
understood that this difference is always noticeable 
to a greater or less degree where everything is 
managed in a proper manner — single cards doing 
half the work of double ones each, as they always 
should do, other things being equal, wherever and 
whenever this system is adopted. What has killed 
single carding in many places has been trying to 
do as much on each card in this manner as double 
ones are accustomed to do. It will be very readily 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 51 



seen that by this plan the carding is increased 50 
per cent., which is rather more than it will bear 
profitably, as a general thing. As has been before 
remarked, if we are carding too much we can card 
less. But where is the concern that can stand an 
increase of 50 per cent, and live through it? 
Many have tried it and signally failed. 

The difference between double and single card- 
ing is : First, rougher yarn from single than double ; 
second, dirtier yarn ; third, spinning does not run 
as well ; fourth, the cloth is not as smooth, or clean, 
from single as from double carding. It is true that 
yarn made from single carding, other things being 
equal, will stand a greater tension on a yarn-tester 
than double ; and the reason may be found in the 
fact that the fibre has not been worked so much. 
But this advantage is more than balanced by the 
amount of dirt in it, causing it to run badly through 
every process it passes. Another advantage of 
double over single carding is, the cotton has to be 
handled over more times, and in every handling 
some dirt is rattled out, and without damage to 
the fibre either. Of course, in estimating the 
amount a card will do in a day or a week much 
depends on the kind of cotton used. Dirty, nubby 
cotton requires more carding than clean. Much 
depends on the kind of card used ; the greater the 
working surface and the more cylinders, tops, and 
workers, the more it will card. There are a great 
variety of cards and likely to be more before there 
are less. Two gentlemen of this city (Lowell^ 
Mass.) have invented, and are now (October, 1875) 
building a new kind of card; the cylinder 36 in- 
ches ; but it has two licker-ins and double the 
number of tops in a Wellman self-stripper. It 
remains to be seen what it will do, but it seems to 



52 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

be a step in the light direction. The name of this 
firm is Foss & Pevey. 

The kind of goods to be made has something to 
do with the amount of cotton carded in a given 
time. If the goods are fine and light, it is neces- 
sary to card more than if heavy and coarse. On 
print goods 64 x 64, seven yards to the pound, a 
36-inch card will do a pound and a half to an inch 
in length of cylinder per day on ordinary kind of 
stock, and do it very well, too, double carding. If 
single, then half the above quantity. When cards 
are kept sharp and in shape every way, they will 
do very much more work (and do it well) than they 
will if allowed to run dull and out of place. The 
beauty of a card of any kind is to have it so ar- 
ranged as to readily seize, and as readily let go, 
the cotton, and if they do the first, they will usu- 
ally do the second ; and to do either, there must be 
a fine needle-point on the teeth. If the points are 
barbed, or as denominated, have a wire edge, they 
will do neither. Cotton may be forced through 
such cards, but it will not be carded. It will be 
ground or jammed through, and it is impossible to 
make good work of such. 

A licker-in is a very useful appendage to any 
card. The stout, diamond-pointed wire, or the saw 
teeth, such as are in use in some places, take hold 
of the cotton first, loosen it out and throw consid- 
erable dirt down on the floor. It is well to cut out 
a space, five-eighths of an inch wide, under the bot- 
tom feed roller, to allow the dirt to fall outside the 
card-frame, instead of inside, to be mixed with the 
flyings, making it necessary to pass them through 
other machinery to again separate them from dirt. 
When it has once been thrown out (in the manner 
described) we have done with it, and it will be 



WILSOX'S COTTOK CAKDERS' COMPANION. 5 



o 



swept up and carried to the waste-house, where it 
belongs, and the licker-in is no longer troubled 
with it, but can, and does, pass the cotton to the 
cylinder minus this dirt, thus saving wear and tear 
of card clothing, and leaving it at liberty to do its 
best with the cotton. The above idea originated 
with Asa B. Lyford, a carder on the Merrimack 
Corporation, in Lowell. 

Goodwin & Atkinson's Patent Mote-Collector is 
a useful appendage to a finisher-card. It is much 
more effective on finishers than breakers; or, in 
other words, it is more effective where there are no 
licker-ins than with cards that have licker-ins. A 
strip of common cotton cloth, four double and about 
an inch and a fourth wide, so fastened to a self- 
stripping card as to just touch the top, will keep 
them very free from dust and lint, which it will 
collect in a roll that may be removed twice a day. 
It also prevents much dirt from being brushed off 
by the hands who clean cards, which is usually 
brushed or blown into the gearing, and into the 
work again. 

Great annoyance has been experienced by card- 
ers in not being able to properly distribute the 
drawing on the railway aprons in both breakers 
and finishers ; and it is quite as important in the 
one as the other ; for if the cotton goes up to the 
lap-head uneven; it will make an uneven lap for 
the finisher to work, straining the clothing with the 
thick places and leaving the main cylinder and 
doflfer streaked, and making bad work generally, 
while in the finisher-boxes, if it is not evenly dis- 
tributed, it tries the top rollers in the railway head 
and will not draw evenly, and will soon injure the 
rollers so that they will not do good work. Kent's 
Card Guide is a very great help in this particular. 
But the humble author of this work invented a 

5* 



54 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS^ C03IPANI0N. 

card guide, some four or five years ago, that is 
better than any he has ever seen. There is no 
patent on it, and probably never will be, and there 
is only one at work at present, and there never have 
been any more ; but if the world stands a while 
longer, and cotton manufacturing continues, there 
will be likely to be more of them in use. A gen- 
tleman made some changes in the author's guide, 
and there are a number of those at work in the 
Merrimack Manufacturing Company's carding- 
rooms, which are working very well. But the 
original, as built by the author, possesses three 
important advantages over all others that he has 
seen. First, it is less expensive than any other ; 
second, it is more convenient ; third, it is more 
effective, doing exactly what is desired to a hair's 
breadth, while the others have to be moved just so 
much, if moved at all. It is claimed by some 
carders that if the ends are once properly distrib- 
uted and put in right shape they will always be 
right \ but a little reflection will convince any one 
that we need an adjustable card guide — one that 
by the touch of the thumb can be changed — as 
almost every day a different card in the same row 
is stopped to grind, causing a derangement of the 
whole sheet unless some convenient plan for re-ad- 
justment is adopted. The card guide spoken of 
can be seen at work in No. 6 Carding-Room, Merri- 
mack Manufacturing Company, Lowell. 

Another source of annoyance to carders, and 
waste to owners, is the cotton dropping down at 
the ends of the doffer on to the railway box or the 
floor, as the case may be. This trouble can be 
remedied by a little care in clothing new cards, or 
a little change in old ones. If the clothing on the 
doffer is a trifle shorter than that of the main cyl- 
inder, the trouble ceases. Where the clothing of 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEES' COMPANION. 55 

the doffer reaches out beyond that of the main 
cylinder, the dropping takes place as the currents 
of air produced by the revolutions of the main 
cylinder blow some cotton on to the surplus ends 
of doffer clothing, and it is knocked off by the 
comb on to the railway box or floor, instead of go- 
ing into the work properly carded as it would, and 
will go, if the two surfaces agree, or if the doffer 
is slightly shorter than the main cylinder. 

STRIPPING CABDS. 

Stripping cards has undergone considerable 
change within the last ten or fifteen years in more 
than one particular. The old style used to be to 
strip tops by hand once in 12 or 15 minutes — half 
the tops on each card. It is now mainly done by 
power. Wellman's and other self-strippers have 
come into very general use, and very properly, too, 
as the work is done much cheaper than formerly 
and quite as well, and the speed can be regulated 
so as to strip more or less often to suit the taste of 
those who have the management of them. The old 
time has been doubled, or rather the stripping has 
been doubled in most places. One-half of the tops 
are now stripped by power once in 8 to 10 min- 
utes. The author is of the opinion that one-half 
the present stripping might profitably be dispensed 
with. It may seem to be a strange idea to many, 
but a little examination into the facts of the case 
will certainly do us no harm, and we may possibly 
learn a valuable practical lesson from such an ex- 
amination. Let any one who thinks it worth his 
while try the following experiment : Take a top 
from any part of a card, front or back — a top that 
has run its full time and ought to be stripped, ac- 
cording to rule, because it has been working 10, 
15 or 20 minuteS; as the case may be ; strip it clean 



56 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

and carefully with a hand card, weigh the waste 
stripped off on a nice pair of roving scales and write 
down the number of grains it weighs ; then replace 
the top and let it remain in place exactly one min- 
ute by the watch ; remove and strip as before, 
weighing the waste, and it will be found that it 
weighs 50 per cent, as much as the former weigh- 
ing did. Now, if this is the case (and no one is 
asked to believe it until he has tried it), what does 
it show ? Simply that the clean top helped itself 
to the first cotton that came along by it until it was 
loaded to a certain degree ; and if the waste is 
examined, it will be found to be almost as good 
cotton as there is in the room. Suppose we strip 
all the tops as rapidly as possible by hand and con- 
tinue the operation a few minutes, we shall find we 
have greatly lessened the weight of the drawing 
delivered by the card, whether it be a breaker or 
a finisher. What does this show ? That a great 
part of the cotton can be stripped off from the tops, 
if they are stripped often enough. Well, what have 
we learned by these experiments? We have learned 
this, it would seem : that it takes a certain amount 
of cotton to fill a top up to a working condition, and 
that certain amount of cotton is as good as any 
that is being carded ; and, also, that the top will 
continue to catch dirt, nubs, leaf, and nits, just 
as well for a considerable time afterwards. Who 
knows how long ? Evidently more than 36 or 46 
minutes. This is probably a new idea to many if 
not to most of carders and manufacturers in general. 
But it is worth trying, and may prove useful. If 
this theory is correct, it 'is no use talking about 
stripping the lower tops oftener than those higher 
up, as has been advocated by some. The author 
has allowed cards to run two hours with the strip- 
per standing, before perceiving any difference in 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEKS' COMPANION. 57 

the working of the card. He will not lay down 
any rule to strip tops by, but thinks the time now 
occupied may profitably and safely be double the 
present, or in other words, strip tops one-half as 
much as they are stripped now — profitably, because 
good cotton will be saved, the percentage of waste 
will be smaller, and the wear and tear of machinery 
less ; safely, because he thinks they will remove as 
much dirt as they do now. 

There is one serious objection to putting the 
speed of a Wellman stripper down very low, to se- 
cure slow or less stripping. If it is slow it keeps 
the top off the card too long. If some plan could be 
devised to move the stripper slowly from one top to 
another, at the same time having a change of speed 
to do the stripping, so as to rise, strip and replace 
the top quickly, a great advantage would be gained. 
Perhaps there are such strippers in the country ; 
there will probably be more. Mr. George H. 
Chandler, assistant superintendent at the Merri- 
mack Manufacturing Company's works, has a plan 
in his mind, and is now at work on it, having this 
end in view. Breaker cards, as a general thing, 
need more stripping than finishers — both tops and 
cylinders. 

With regard to stripping cylinders, it continues 
to be done mostly by hand ; but we strip very 
much less than we used to do in former years. 
The first the writer heard about any change was 
some eight or nine years ago, when an old associate 
called on him who was then running a large room 
in an adjoining State. We had not met for years, 
and this was a very agreeable meeting; and, in a 
hurried manner, each asked and answered a great 
many questions. Among others he asked, " How 
often do you strip cylinders ? " He was told once 
in two hours ; that was the old style, and was con- 



58 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

sidered the orthodox plan. " Well," said he, '' try 
stripping them once in four weeks, or as often 
as you grind." He was supposed to be jesting ; 
but he added, "I am in earnest; and that is 
as often as I strip mine." It is needless to stop 
to describe how much astonished the writer was 
to hear such talk, from such a source ; but he 
had long ere that day made up his mind to try 
whatever he heard of in way of improvement 
if it seemed reasonable, and sometimes if it did 
not. This was one of the times when it did not so 
seem ; but directions were given a stripper not to 
strip a certain cylinder any more until further 
orders; and it ran without stripping until the time 
of grinding, some three weeks, and no perceptible 
difference was discovered in the work of that card. 
It was watched daily — almost hourly. One day, 
while the carder was at his desk, marking down 
time, near night, a stripper came up and said he 
was desired to say to the overseer a certain grinder 
wanted to leave. He was asked what the trouble 
was. " 0/' said he, ^' he is on a job he thinks he 
will never live to finish, and he wants to leave be- 
fore he is ' killed entirely.' " '- Well, what is he 
doing ? " " Stripping that cylinder that has run 
so long without stripping." The cylinder was ex- 
amined, and there was plenty of time to examine 
it before the bad job was completed. It stripped 
hard — very hard, so hard indeed that the carder 
was fearful that the clothing would be injured 
before the stripping was completed ; and it was 
thought it had run too long without stripping. No 
others were tried for the same length of time ; but 
they were tried at shorter periods until one day was 
settled down on as the proper time for a cylinder 
to run without stripping. The writer has adopted 
that plan, and practised it for a number of years^ 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 59 

having one-half the cylinders stripped in the fore- 
noon, and the other half in the afternoon — every 
other cylinder in each row. Perhaps cylinders 
might run longer than that, under some circum- 
stances — as for instance where the work is light 
and the cotton clean ; under other circumstances 
it might not be often enough, where the work is 
heavy and the cotton dirty. No positive rule can 
be laid down that will be safe to follow in all cases. 
The carder must exercise his own judgment. But 
there are two or three things which are pretty cer- 
tain : first, the cases are very rare where it is 
necessary to strip cylinders once in two hours, as 
we used to do ; second, the cases are rare where 
they can be profitably run four weeks, or three 
weeks, without stripping ; third and last, but not 
least, all kinds of stripping, whether cylinders or 
tops, and whether they are stripped often or other- 
wise, one-half should be stripped at a time — every 
other top on a card, and every other cylinder in 
the same row, for the reason that every stripping 
makes the work lighter for the time being, and 
where alternate tops or cylinders are stripped, it 
affects the work less than if they were all stripped 
at about the same time. 

The question of placing screens under cylinders, 
or not placing them there, or anywhere else, has 
been considerably agitated at different times and 
in different places. Some use them ; others do not. 
They had a very general popularity once. Now 
they are popular in some places, and in others they 
are not The author has used them, has nothing 
to say against the principle, rather likes it, and if 
screens are properly made, of the right material, 
he has no doubt they might be, and perhaps are, a 
benefit. Screens made of wire netting did not 
work satisfactorily with him ; there was too much 



60 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

of a tendency to bed over and stop everything 
going through them ; then they were no longer 
screens, but a sort of under-casing, that keeps too 
much dirt in the work. Cleaning often enough 
will obviate this difficulty ; but it is necessary to 
do it so often it becomes burdensome. Zinc, with 
round or other holes punched in it, is objectionable, 
because it is so difficult to make the edges of the 
holes smooth that it is hardly ever done perfectly, 
and the result is cotton dirt clings to them and 
soon stops them up^ though they are not as bad as 
wire netting. A cast-iron rack, made of bars and 
set in grooves that conform in shape to the surface 
of the cylinder — the bars made three-cornered, flat 
side next to cylinder, and two sharp edges forming 
the edges of the opening, set three-eighths of an 
inch apart, and the other sharp edge down, and the 
general surface of the rack five-eighths of an inch 
from the cylinder — works well under some cylinders. 
There is probably no reason why such a rack would 
not work well under a main cylinder of a card if 
placed there. Such a rack would not probably get 
clogged up very easily. 

Any kind of screens now in use can be run ad- 
vantageously, if sufficient care is taken to keep 
them clear. One very common error is placing 
them too near the cylinder surface. They should 
not be placed less than five-eighths of an inch from 
it. If waste from the cards is to be re-worked at 
all there should be as much of it kept in the work, 
as it is passing, as is possible to keep in ; or, 
rather, it is best to keep the fibre in, and let the 
dirt out. Screens will do that on common kinds 
of cards. 

The speed of main cylinders varies considerably 
under different circumstances and as managed by 
different men. If there are no screens under main 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 61 

cylinders one hundred and twenty-five revolutions 
per minute for a 36-inch cylinder^ or in that pro- 
portion for other sizes^ is about right. If such 
cylinders run much faster than that they throw 
off too much waste ; if they run much slower they 
do not clean the cotton well. If there are screens, 
they may run as high as a hundred and fifty or 
sixty, without harm, and they clean the cotton 
better on high than they do on low speed. The 
surface of the main cylinder should exceed the 
licker-in speed from twenty-five to thirty per cent. 
The draught of cards varies as much as speed. 
They will draw as much as they are asked to do, 
as a general thing ; and yet it is not best to go to 
extremes in either direction — not too low nor too 
high ; from sixty to eighty, as a general thing, is 
about right for the draught of a card of ordinary 
dimensions. If we have a thin lap and conse- 
quently must have a low draught, it necessitates a 
slow speed of the doffer, and the cylinder will not 
clear well. If, on the other hand, we have a very 
thick, heavy lap, making it necessary to have a 
high draught, the lap being so thick is not held firm- 
ly enough between the rollers to be well carded. 
It will draw off in flakes, more or less ; so it is 
best to have a medium draught, if possible. The idea 
that cotton passes round a cylinder several times, 
before being taken off by the doffer, is fully be- 
lieved in by many carders and spinners. But the 
author of this work is of the opinion that the 
cotton that passes the doffer once is either thrown 
off under the cylinder in the shape of flyings, or 
it sticks to the main cylinder and remains until 
removed by the card of the stripper in the shape 
of main cjiinder waste. If the feed and doffer 
be stopped for any length of time and the cylinder 
and the top stripping goes on, the doffer will re- 



62 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

ceive a little additional streak of* waste, and the 
cylinder will throw some of its waste upon the 
newly stripped tops ; but when everything is in 
motion, what the dofFer does not take off when it 
first reaches it, does not come at all in that way. 
If any one wishes to see how cotton looks, and 
what kind of a condition it is in, after passing 
by the doflfer several times, their curiosity can 
be gratified by drawing the doflfer off from the 
cylinder a thirty second of an inch, and allowing 
it to run in that manner a few minutes. But it 
will be at the expense of the cotton so carded. 
It can be seen in another way : Grind the card 
hard enough to barb the points of the teeth so that 
the cylinder will not clear, and the same result 
will follow. The fibre will be ruined in either 
case. The beauty of a card of any kind is to have 
it so arranged as to readily seize the cotton and 
as readily let it go, when the proper time comes ; 
in other words, it should clear well — nothing be 
allowed to load except tops, and allow them to 
load with dirt, leaf and other foreign substances 
instead of cotton. 

" How often is it necessary to grind cards ? " is 
a question frequently asked. Well, the question 
can be asked quicker than it can be properly an- 
swered. As a general thing they should be ground 
often enough to keep them in good working order; 
but that is very indefinite; and another question 
is immediately asked — " Well, how often is that ?" 
That depends entirely upon circumstances. If a 
card is properly ground and adjusted, no one part 
rubbing or chafing against another, and it is 
carefully managed, not over-loaded^ and good 
stock well prepared in the picker^ it will run 
a month without grinding, or between grindings, 
very well. But if ground once in two weeks they 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 63 

would work better ; or one week, better still. In- 
deed it would be difficult to grind too often, if the 
grinding is properly done. There is no time a 
card works so well as it does the first day after it 
is ground. 

When we used to have fewer cards, card heavier 
than now, on the same kind of work, we ground 
oftener, and it was necessary to do so, too. A 
grinder in those days used to have 26 cards to 
grind ; and he got around with them once in two 
weeks or thereabouts, generally grinding two cards 
per day. Those were the old wooden-framed cards, 
which were not as reliable as iron frames or as 
easily managed. Nowadays we have modern cards, 
card lighter than formerly, consequently have 
more of them ; and a grinder has from 50 to 60 
cards to take care of, and he should grind 15 per 
week ; and that usually keeps them in very good 
condition. 

In taking care of cards much depends on the 
thoroughness and skill of the grinder. If when 
he sets a card up, he does it in such a manner that 
everything remains in place until the time comes 
to grind it again, it will be in a comparatively 
good condition. If, on the other hand, things have 
been left loose — not properly adjusted, and those 
that have been properly adjusted not properly 
secured, and move— the doffer, rolls, or tops get on 
the cylinder, the points are soon spoiled, and the 
card will not work satisflictorily. To be sure, the 
cotton goes through ; but it will not be carded : it 
will be ground through. It is impossible to make 
good yarn of cotton which has not been properly 
carded. No future process, either in the carding 
room or the spinning room, will remedy such an 
evil as that. 



64 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

How often to re-clothe grinders is another ques- 
tion. Some carders allow their fancy or Hardy 
grinders to run a long time ; some a year, and 
others not so long. The writer is of the opinion 
that a fancy five-inch grinder should generally be 
re-clothed once in three months^ and a twelve-inch 
top grinder once a year ; a Hardy traverse at least 
once a month. A grinder should not be allowed 
to run so long as to get glazed over. If they do, 
they are of very little service, and will not grind 
satisfactorily. The regular motions may be gone 
through with, but a card will not grind well with 
an old, smooth, glazed grinder ; and if it is not 
ground it will not work well. 

Whether to re-use old emery is another question. 
It is contended by some that emery will not come 
the same side up two diflerent times — that it is 
just as well to use it a second time. But let us 
see : Is it not just as likely to come the same side 
up twice, as it is to change sides ? Of course it 
is ; and for that reason, if for no other, it should 
not be used a second time — so it seems to the 
writer. 

How long shall we run old card clothing, is an- 
other important question. A cylinder has become 
short, some teeth are broken out, tops have got 
worn short, or a doflfer is broken out in spots. At 
what stage shall it be renewed ? As soon as it 
begins to work badly. It is not profitable to run 
card clothing so long that it makes bad work — 
not even one card, for one bad-working card will 
often injure the work of a whole section. But a 
good manager may use his old clothing all up by 
taking a little pains. When a majority of the 
sheets in a main cylinder become bad, remove the 
whole and re-clothe with new sheets ; but pick out 



WILSOK'S COTTOIS^ CAKDERS' COMPANION. 65 

the tolerably good sheets and lay them by. When 
another main cylinder is found with a part of the 
sheets in a bad condition^ remove the bad ones and 
replace with those that have been saved out of the 
last lot. It is necessary, however, to exercise great 
care in the selection of sheets to patch up with. 
Those longer than the original should never be 
used ; but if they are shorter, one or more strips 
of cloth or paper may be laid under them, stuck 
with thin glue to hold them in place until the 
clothing is put on. A gauge or card calipers may 
be used to ascertain the length of teeth accurately. 
Tops may also be patched in the same manner, 
without the necessity of measuring the length of 
the teeth, as they can be set to accommodate dif- 
ferent lengths without difficulty, so far as carding 
and grinding is concerned. It is necessary, how- 
ever, that tops should all take into the strip card 
alike. To accomplish this a nice little arrange- 
ment has been made by placing two set screws in 
the plate ; the heads are slotted and may be ad- 
justed b}^ a gauge made for the purpose, so as to 
work on the jaw of the stripper and allow the top 
to take into the strip card exactly right — no mat- 
ter whether the teeth are long or short. This is 
the invention of Jabez Edwards, a veteran carder 
on the Merrimack Corporation. 

The speed of the different parts of a card, so far 
as rollers and doffer are concerned, depends upon 
the draught. The speed of a main cylinder may 
be the equivalent of 125 revolutions per minute 
for a 36-inch main cylinder when tops are used, 
and 150 with workers and cleaners, or workers and 
strippers. It is a fact that main cylinders are run 
much faster than the above in many places, and it 
is claimed that they* work well, even better than 
when run at a lower speed ; and it will not be dis- 

6* 



66 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEKS' COMPANION. 

puted. The writer has tried high speed for main 
cylinders, and has no fault to find with their work, 
but they throw off a great quantity of waste where 
there are no screens, and they get a terrible bat- 
tering when anything gets into them beside cotton, 
as will sometimes "happen in the best-regulated 
families." 

There should be just draught enough between 
the lap roll and feed roll to keep the lap straight. 
Say two-hundredths of one or one and two-hun- 
dredths, as figures would express it. The same 
between the comb and calender rolls, w^here there 
are such, or between the comb and apron, where 
there are no calender rolls. 

The principal drawing should be done between 
the feed rolls and doffer ] it can be done there to 
almost any extent without injury ; but when cot- 
ton is passing in a sheet or sliver any considerable 
distance it should not he draum. But this subject 
will be considered more at length under the head 
of drawing and speeders. 

Cards, like everything else that is used much, 
need washing sometimes. All the iron w^ork and 
the lower wood work may be washed with soap 
and water ; but water should never be applied to 
tops, as it is very apt to cause them to spring. 
Rub tops with waste made damp with benzine or 
spirits of turpentine ; afterwards rub with waste 
made damp with raw linseed oil. When done with 
both kinds of such waste either burn it in the fires 
under the boilers or throw it in the river, as it is 
very unsafe to be kept with other waste. Never 
try it ; for it may take fire. 

A w^ell-arranged carding engine is almost as 
much of a marvel in its operation as a modern 
picker. It takes the cotton as left by that ma- 
chine in the shape of a lap or sheets receives it 



WILSON'S COTTOlSr CAEDEKS' COMPANION. 67 

very slowly and turns it out in the shape of a 
sliver or continuous roll, and very clean. This is, 
in fact^ the last regular cleansing process. It is 
true that some dirt rattles out of it as it passes 
from one machine to another, and through them. 
But the great cotton-cleanser is the card ; all the 
little nits, or neps, that cling to the fibre through 
the card continue to cling to it until they reach 
the cloth ; hence the great importance of keeping 
cards sharp and in good working order all the 
time, for no other machine that succeeds the card- 
ing will do the work of the card. 

There are various kinds of cards in use in dif- 
ferent places, and something is claimed by different 
men who have from time to time improved upon 
Arkwright's and Slater's cards; but that those 
gentlemen made so long a step in this particular 
at the beginning, that less has been done by way 
of improving cards, within the last twenty or thirty 
years, than has been accomplished in other depart- 
ments, is a fact well known to all acquainted with 
cotton manufacturing. The self-stripper is about 
all ; otherwise we are doing the carding by about 
the same methods as it was done thirty years ago. 
We don't card quite as heavily, but the general plan 
is nearly the same. If some cotton-working Rip 
Van Winkle, who w^as laboring in a mill forty years 
ago, had fallen into a sleep and should wake up now 
(October, 1875) and be placed in a dressing-room, 
he would hardly know where he was, or remember 
that he had ever seen anything like it. Put him 
into a spinning-room, and he would probably re- 
member a little more. He would of course know 
the weaving by the noise. But place him in the 
carding-room, and he would feel at home. Rail- 
ways and the present lap heads would look a little 



68 WILSON'S coTTOisr carders' companion. 

odd, but the familiar look of the cards would set 
him right at once. 

There are two principal cards now in use : the card 
with tops or flats, as they are often called, and the 
roller cards, or cards without flats, and instead small 
cylinders, called workers and strippers or workers 
and clearers. Both kinds have very strong ad- 
vocateS; but the former are the most numerous. 
Workers and strippers have been placed under the 
main cylinder by some, as well as on the top. But 
it has been found by actual trial that they don't 
work very well. Within the last year two gentle- 
men of this city (Lowell, Mass.) have been study- 
ing on an improvement in carding; in other words, 
on an improved card. They have succeeded in 
bringing out a machine that certainly promises 
well. It is a common 36-inch main cylinder, but 
instead of being placed in a square frame, like a 
common card, it is placed on a kind of pedestal or 
foot, so that a large portion of the cylinder under- 
neath can be seen and easily handled by a little 
stooping. The doffer is placed a little higher than 
in an ordinary card ; the feed is under the doffer. 
There is a regular licker-in, and between it and 
the main cylinder is another cylinder, a little larger 
than the licker-in, which takes the cotton from the 
licker-in, and the main cylinder takes it from that. 
Under both these little cylinders there are racks, 
in the form of screens. The licker-in rakes the 
cotton down, as it takes it from the feed rolls. The 
main cylinder rakes down as it takes the cotton 
from the second little cylinder. Underneath the 
main cylinder, from the point where it takes the 
cotton from the second little cylinder, is placed 
what would generally be called tops, but in this 
case it would be more proper to call them flats, 



WILSON'S COTTON^ CARDEKS' COMPANION. 69 

it __^_ _____^^______ 

twenty in number, and an equal number on top, 
reaching over to the dofFer, from which it will be 
seen that this card has double the usual amount of 
flats and an extra cylinder. This seems to be an 
improvement. It is certainly most skilfully ar- 
ranged, taking advantage of the laws of nature 
in getting rid of dirt — throwing it dozvn instead 
of carrying it up and over, as is the case with an 
ordinary card. There is a small space between 
where the second cylinder delivers the cotton 
to the main cylinder and the under set of flats. A 
rack or screen has been placed there, under the 
main cylinder ; but as this cylinder acts altogether 
differently from a common one, inasmuch as it car- 
ries its whole load down, the centrifugal force drives a 
portion of good cotton down through the rack, and 
it must be a very fine rack to work there. In a 
common card the main cylinder takes the load up 
under the tops or rollers, as the case may be^ and 
then delivers it to the doffer. A screen or rack 
may be placed under such a cylinder as that, and 
as the cylinder is comparatively empty, not much 
good cotton can be thrown through it. But it will 
readily be seen that this is a different affair. Twelve 
of these cards were put into No. 1 Carding-Room^ 
on the Merrimack Corporation, of Lowell, Mass.^ 
a few weeks since, and put to work by the side of 
twelve finishers. These cards are supplied with 
laps from the picker, and are consequently what 
may be called single cards, or single carding. The 
work is being kept by itself, for the purpose of 
testing and comparison. They have not been run- 
ning long enough yet to enable one to come to any 
definite conclusion as to their real merits. But 
they certainly promise well thus far. It puzzles 
the oldest heads to pick out the drawing or roving. 
The spinner reports that the work runs well^ and 



70 WILSON'S COTTON CARDEES' COMPANION. 

^ m 

the yarn tests well — a little stronger than the 
double carding. What it will do in the way of 
preparing material for good, smooth, clean cloth 
remains to be seen, although there is no doubt but 
they will do much better business than ordinary 
single cards. 

The writer has been somewhat prejudiced against 
single carding for some years, having had some 
unpleasant experience with it during three 
years, at one period of his life. Trying to card 
too much to a card was what did the mischief in 
that case ; and the same complaint has troubled 
many another man, and other concerns besides the 
one where this occurred. The trial has often been 
made on this wise : to increase the work of the 
same kind of a card one hundred per cent. ; that 
is, make one card do the work of two. It has 
almost always been found to be too much to work 
well. But the kind of card just spoken of is new 
and has many advantages over the old ones. First, 
the arrangement for feed is very much better — 
the licker-in and main cylinder both working 
down ; second, nearly the whole surface of the 
main cylinder is at work all the time ; third, there 
are two entire sets of flats, half of them under the 
cylinder instead of on top in which position they 
are much more effective. There is an arrangement 
by which the bottom flats are stripped twice to the 
top set once, though the stripping is all done by 
one set of double-acting cams. It is claimed by 
the builders (Foss & Pevey) that this card will do 
seventy-five per cent, more work than an ordinary 
card, and equally as well ; that is, in the propor- 
tion of four cards to seven, w^hether carding single 
or double. There is at present no one prepared to 
dispute the claim. If this claim is met, or the ex- 
pectation of the builders realized, it will be seen 



WILSON'S COTTOK CARDERS' COMPANION. 71 

that a great saving of floor-room will be made as 
well as power, appurtenances and help to run the 
machines, though of course help would not be re- 
duced in regular proportion. If they do more 
work, it is more work to tend them, and they must 
also be ground oftener to keep them in good order. 
But this card is a long way ahead of the old kind, 
as it is now ; and it is not completed yet. The 
builders, and those who may have charge of them, 
will think of a great many improvements that 
will be suggested from time to time by working 
with them. 

This card has a decided improvement in the way 
of driving the stripper. It is so arranged that the 
stripping starts and stops with the feed; when the 
feed stops the strippers stop, too, instead of work- 
ing away in the old manner until they have nearly 
emptied both tops and cylinders, causing a break- 
down and light work when the feed starts again, 
as they always do en the old plan, if the cylinders 
run any length of time with the feed and doffer 
standing. 

It is more than probable that the main cylinder 
might be run as high as 150 revolutions per min- 
ute, instead of 125, as at present, especially if 
there is a solid casing put under it, between the 
second little cylinder, instead of a rack, as it seems 
likely there will be. It is possible that this is the 
grand central point where the advocates of both 
double and single carding may harmoniously meet, 
this being not exactly the one or the other, but a 
sort of compromise, or cross between the two, like 
Cropton's mule. 

Whatever kinds of cards may be used, it is 
necessary, in order to secure good work economi- 
cally, to have good, nice card clothing. Perhaps 
the writer may be allowed to digress from the main 



72 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 

object of this work enough to say that the Lowell 
Card Company make such, and he speaks advis- 
edly, as he has used this Company's clothing for 
some years, with entire satisfaction. 

Another important qualification for good carding 
is good grinders : machines are meant. The Ladd 
grinder, built by Mr. A. H. Saunders, of Nashua^ 
N. H., is a great improvement on the long fancy 
grinder, as the traverse is positive and can be re- 
gulated to the wish of the operator, is reliable, 
more comfortable to handle and does better work 
than the old-fashioned, haphazard traverse. The 
Hardy grinder is good and makes a very nice- 
pointed tooth. Any grinder must be kept in 
order and should be perfectly true and straight. 

Since the author commenced this chapter he 
has made further experiments in grinding. In a 
couple of stands, rigged up at the ends of the 
doffer and nearly over the comb shaft, is a little 
shaft one inch in diameter, driven from the main 
shaft overhead. From this shaft the main cylinder 
is driven 44 revolutions per minute, the grinder 
400 and a doffer 124; or thereabouts. In this man- 
ner a card is ground very nicely ; with any kind 
of a good grinder they grind quicker and better, 
and it don't seem to be so hard on the clothing as 
the old style. 

Where breaker cards are used, and consequent- 
ly lap heads, it should be the aim of the carder 
to so guide the different grists from railway boxes 
into the frame of the lap head as to make a uni- 
form, even lap for the finisher cards. If one laps 
over the other and there are thick and thin stripes 
in the lap, the finisher will not work well. The 
cylinder will have stripes in it ; and the teeth, 
where these stripes form, will break out very 
soon. 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 73 

Since the preparation of this chapter was begun 
the author has invented another new card guide. 
It is cheapj convenient, durable and can be placed 
in any position within range of the railway box in 
a quarter of a minute. There is no patent on it. 
Anybody can make and use it who chooses to do 
so ; and another splendid thing about it is, it 
does not infringe on any patent. Take a piece 
of nail plate, three-quarters of an inch wide and 
long enough to reach from the calender roll to the 
top of the railway box ; turn a knee or elbow, an 
inch and a half long and running horizontally close 
to the top of the railway box ; to this short piece 
rivet a common card trumpet or eye, such as is 
used in the cover of a railway box ; drill a hole in 
the upright part, within an inch of the top ; sus- 
pend the whole thing from the calender roll-stand 
with a five sixteenth bolt ; let the bolt hold it in 
place. In this manner it will swing the entire 
width of the railway box, and can be secured at 
any point by simply tightening up the little bolt. 
This is a good guide. The only objection to it is, 
it leaves a hole open across the box ; but the ob- 
jection is in proportion to the size of the hole, so 
make it small ; then the objection is small. It is 
of great importance to have the ends from the cards 
uniformly distributed on the railway aprons of 
both breakers and finishers. A cheap and conven- 
ient guide is necessary to do this. It pays to 
manipulate them as often as cards are ground or 
anything happens to disarrange the ends on the 
apron. 

i here are a great many different opinions as to 
the best method of disposing of waste made in a 
carding-room. Some advocate throwing it out of 
the work altogether, where the work is fine^ or 
where it is desired to have it nice, and work the 

7 



74 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPAKION. 

waste by itself into some coarser niaterial. This 
plan might work well ; no doubt it is practised in 
some places. . 

The writer has some few suggestions to make 
at this point : First, let the construction, arrange- 
ment and management of carding engines be such 
as to make no waste fit to work over for any kind 
of cloth on these machines. Let cards have screens 
of some kind, either such as are suggested in a 
former part of this chapter, or some better ones, 
allowing a space for dirt to drop out, but no fibre, 
or so little fibre and so short that it will not be 
worth working over for anything. That plan takes 
care of flyings. Second, cut out under the feed 
rollers of breakers so as to let dirt drop out there, 
before it goes any farther ; quite a quantity will 
drop out there. Apply the mote-catcher to fin- 
ishers, and empty them as often as they get full. 
Third, so far as dirty waste is concerned, don't 
strip either tops or cylinders, on any kind of cards, 
often enough to remove any waste that will be fit 
to work over in any kind of cloth. Let cards run 
without stripping until the waste is dirty enough 
to go for batting. Cards will fill up to a certain 
degree with good cotton immediately after they 
are started ; then they may run a long time — much 
longer than is generally supposed — without taking 
on more good cotton, but will continue to catch 
dirt. 

This plan provides for dirtj^ card waste, such as 
strippings and flyings, and such as is generally 
worked over with the cotton. Such waste can 
never be mixed with cotton in so nice shape as it 
is in while already there. Why not keep it there, 
instead of knocking it out, carting back and forth, 
re-mixing and re-working, to the great injury of the 
whole work ? For the management of clean waste, 



WILSON'S COTTO^Sr CAKDERS' COMPANION. 75 

the reader is referred to another part of this chap- 
ter. The writer has only one amendment to offer 
to the plan suggested there ; that is, instead of 
running it through a finisher-picker, as is there re- 
commended, let a new picker be built on purpose 
for it, with one beater and one set of cylinders. Get 
it back into a lap as quickly and easily as possible. 
One thing more in this connection : Let every 
carder see that no more waste is made at any point 
in his room than is absolutely unavoidable. Every 
pound of waste made is a dead loss^ so far as labor 
is concerned ; and moreover it is a positive injury 
to the whole work when it comes back. Arrange 
machines so that they will run well and have them 
watched. Nice carding is the soul of good yarn. 



CHAPTER IV. 
Drawing. 

GENERAL REMARKS — RAILWAYS — ENDS IN THE BOX — TWO 
SYSTEMS — GUIDES — WHERE TO DRAW AND WHERE NOT TO 
DRAW — THREE GENERAL RULES — HOW MUCH TO DRAW 
BETWEEN BACK ROLLERS — EVENERS — THE WHOLE DRAUGHT 
OF A RAILWAY — AN EXCEPTION TO THE RULE — WEIGHTING 
TOP ROLLERS —DOUBLINGS — SPEED OF FRONT ROLLER OF 
RAILWAY — ELECTRICITY I HOW TO GET RID OF IT — TOP 
ROLLERS — SHELL ROLLERS — SPEED OF FRONT ROLLER OF 
DRAWING FRAME — CROWDERS — DOUBLING AND DRAWING 
— PHILOSOPHY OF DRAWING — TRAVERSE — CLEARERS — 
WEIGHING DRAWING — BELTS — GENERAL SUMMING UP. 

Drawing succeeds carding, and very properly, 
too. The object of drawing is two-fold : To 
straighten and lay the fibres of cotton parallel. 
Whatever a picker or cards do to cotton, there is 
one thing they do not do, and that is, they do not 
straighten the fibre much. If a fleece of cotton is 
taken up and held betw^een the eye and the light, 
it will be noticed that the fibres lie almost every 
way. There is, perhaps, a slight tendency of a 
majority to lie a little more in one direction than 
another ; but as for anything like a general 
straightening, it is not found there. Again : as 
cotton comes from cards, the different slivers vary 
in weight considerably, owing to a number of 
causes : First, the laps from the picker may vary 
a little ; second, all cards do not clear equally 
w^ell • third, there may be a little variation in the 
feed rolls, doffers, doffer pulleys or calender rolls. 
(See Chapter I.) From all these causes there is 
a variation in weight, and hence the necessity of 
doubling ; and this brings us to the second part 
of drawing, viz : To draw it down after being 



r 



WILSON^S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 77 

doubled. When the doublings of a mill are counted^ 
we begin back at the finisher-picker, and it is pro- 
per to do so ; but so far as the evenness of the 
work is concerned^ doubling before it comes to the 
drawing frame, as the saying is, " don't amount to 
a row of pins." It is a most excellent way to 
mix cotton, and good mixing is indispensable to 
uniform yarn ; but so far as regulating inequalities 
of weight in the different slivers, it does not do 
that to any great extent. Drawing is a very im- 
portant branch in the preparation of cotton for 
spinning ; and in order to secure good, even yarn, 
all the drawing frames must be properly built, well- 
proportioned, rightly adjusted, kept in order and 
carefully tended. 

There have been, and are still, a number of dif- 
ferent kinds of frames in use, each possessing some 
merit. These frames have been greatly improved 
within the last twenty years or more. When they 
were first brought into use there were no stop- 
motions attached, and if the girl who attended 
them did not see an end when run through and so 
stop the frame, it continued to run just as well 
with a portion of the ends out as with them all 
in, but the work suffered. If she did not take out 
the single, of course there was a portion too light, 
and if she did, then waste was made. After a 
time stop-motions were applied to the frames in 
such a manner that when an end broke or ran out 
the frame stopped, and so they continued to run 
for years ; but W'ithin a few years past the stop- 
motion has been extended, and now if one of the 
strands breaks in front, or if a bunch comes down 
in front, the frame stops. The same principle has 
been applied to railways, and it is a great advan- 
tage, as that machine cannot stop long at a time 
without great inconvenience and loss. 

7* 



78 WILSON'S COTTOlSr CARDERS' COMPANION. 

Drawing frames have been built in various shapes 
and sizes. We have them all the way from two 
to six lengths of rollers, and from three to six sets. 
We find them with plungers^ cast-iron crowders, 
coilers, wooden and tin crowders, and no crowders 
at all. They are running with dead weights and 
lever weights. Cans are made to revolve in some 
machines, and in others they are stationary, and 
they vary in diameter from six to twenty inches. 
There is a great variety of opinion as to the proper 
speed to run them ; how much weight should be 
applied to rollers and how to apply it ; how much 
to draw and where ; how much to double, &c. 

We have already considered the nature of cot- 
ton ; it is not necessary to repeat here. We 
have traced it in the various processes through 
which it passes in preparation down to the railway 
box or the can, as the card has delivered it. We 
find it as it leaves the card in a light; loose and 
almost transparent sliver — tolerably clean, but fibres 
lying in every direction. The opening and cleans- 
ing has been performed. The next thing in order 
is to lay the fibres parallel, in smooth, compact and 
even sliver. For this purpose it is drawn out, 
doubled and drawn several times, according to the 
quality of the work desired, the taste of the man- 
ager, or both. Railways have been very generally 
adopted in this country within the last twenty-five 
or thirty years, and this is the most convenient, 
economical and comfortable method of gathering 
a number of card slivers together in shape to re- 
ceive the first drawing ; and this, too, leads us to 
a consideration of the railway-head. And, first of 
all, it is necessary to deliver the slivers to this 
same head in a smooth, even sheet. The edges 
should not be allowed to rub against the box in 
their passage through it ; if they do, they will get 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 79 

fretted and will not make a smooth, even-edged 
sliver of drawing. 

There are two systems of laying card slivers 
into a railway box. One we will denominate the 
B system ; the other the E system. The former 
is to make a calculation of how many thicknesses 
of sliver from cards it is necessary to have for a 
certain width of apron, in order to cover it uni- 
formly, and whatever number it takes lay that 
number down, one sliver exactly over another, in 
the center of the railway box at the farthest end 
from the railway ; the next two ends meet in the 
center of those already laid down; and then shingle 
on each side alternate ends until they are all used. 
This system makes a mOst excellent sheet, and its 
only fault is, it leaves the edges the thickness of 
a single card sliver. But it has advantages over 
all others : first, it makes the best sheet, with the 
single exception mentioned above ; second, it re- 
tains its shape the best, when one end is out by 
reason of a card stopping to be stripped or for 
other purposes. The tendency is to close up a 
little, and so partially cover up the deficiency, 
making the sheet narrower instead of leaving a 
vacancy. 

The E system, like the other, needs a calcula- 
tion as to the number of ends and width of apron ; 
when ascertained, lay down one-fourth, one-third 
or one-half, the ends from the first cards or those 
farthest from the railway, till the apron is covered ; 
then repeat layer upon layer until they are all 
used. This system makes a very nice sheet and 
square edges; but they are apt to spread out 
somewhat and chafe the edges against the sides of 
the box — especially those first laid down. Again : 
when one card is out, there is a square deficiency ; 
no help for it. With a perfect, adjustable guide 



80 WILSON'S COTTOIS^ CAKDERS' COMPAlSTIOIvr. 

either system can be used, according to the taste 
of the operator. Without such a guide^ it is diffi- 
cult to arrange satisfactorily or employ either sys- 
tem. 

There is one other system at work in some 
places : the haphazard system^ where the ends 
from cards are laid on the apron without regard to 
position — in some places four double, in others two, 
and others one, just as it happens. Such cannot 
make good work long at a time, as they soon spoil 
the rolls in the railway-head. 

The card slivers, after being nicely laid down in 
the box on the apron, are ready to pass through 
the railway-head ; and at this point; let it be re- 
membered, cotton receives its first doubling and 
drawing proper; in other words, it is the point 
where the doubling and drawing begin to tell on 
the evenness of roving and yarn. It is well, in 
making calculations of doublings, to begin at the 
finisher-picker or lapper ; and it is as well, also, to 
bear in mind that, so far as the evenness of roving 
is concerned, these doublings don't amount to much 
until we arrive at the railway-head. The others 
are good in their place. We cannot dispense with 
them. But it is at the railway-head where we be- 
gin to draw down and even our work. A railway 
generally has four rolls, or rather sets of rolls ; at 
least all should have this arrangement. There has 
been a great deal said about the right number of 
rolls, or what number is right, for a drawing frame; 
but not much about railways. The principle is the 
same in both frames. The difference is, the sliver 
or sheet is heavier in a railway than in a drawing 
frame and consequently takes more power to hold 
and draw here ; and somebody probably made the 
discovery, at some time, that four sets of rolls would 
do this work better than three. He did well : they 



WILSON'S COTTON CAEDERS' COMPANION. 81 

do ; and it is probable that if all who have used 
railways from that time to the present had known 
as much as the man who made the discovery^ there 
would not have been so many mistakes made in 
arranging the draught of the machine. 

As it is, we find them drawing considerably be- 
tween each set of rolls. We may safely conclude 
that the man who found it necessary to have four 
sets of rolls in a railway did not draw very much 
between the second and third sets. He did not 
place them there for that purpose, but to hold the 
sheet firm while the first and second pairs of rolls 
did the drawing. This may seem to be a strange 
doctrine ; and perhaps just here a few remarks on 
drawing in general may be in place. It is a deli- 
cate and somewhat complicated subject to handle, 
and the writer may not be able to make himself 
perfectly understood^ but he will do his best. 

Firsts cotton fibres, as we find them in slivers of 
drawing, are somewhat cuiled up — more so in card 
slivers than any other, from the fact that every pro- 
cess of drawing, proper, straightens them a little ; 
second, the object of drawing is not only to straighten 
the fibres and lay them parallel, but to draw down 
as well, especially after doubling. What we want 
is the best method of doing this business of draw- 
ing fibres straight, laying them parallel and reduc- 
ing slivers down to their proper tenuity. 

There are three general rules that may be ob- 
served with profit, though like all rules there may 
be exceptions to them : first, do the principal part 
of drawing in all kinds of drawing, roving and 
spinning frames between the first pair of rollers, 
or the two first sets ; second, draw no more in any 
one place than is strictly necessary ; third, increase 
as it progresses or advances from one frame to an- 
other on its way toward yarn. And now we will 



82 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

explain the above rules^ look at them in their true 
light, and mention exceptions. 

Perhaps the writer can make himself understood 
as well, if not better than in any other way, by 
introducing a little incident. Some years ago a 
gentleman called on him and entered into conver- 
sation concerning the preparation of cotton for 
spinning. He said he had been brought up a 
mule-spinner, but was then a mill owner and cot- 
ton manufacturer. He professed to understand 
the whole process of preparation, in all its partic- 
ulars from beginning to end. We talked about 
drawing, among other things: the best way to do 
it, where to draw, how much, &c. ; and in the 
course of his remarks he said he would have only 
two sets of rollers in a drawing frame, if he was 
going to build them for his own use ; that the third 
set were useless ; that the drawing should all be 
done between the two first sets, any way, and what 
is the use of a third set ? The writer took the 
matter into serious consideration. He asked him- 
self the question, " Of what use is the third or 
fourth set of rollers in a drawing frame ? " He 
agreed with the ex-mule-spinner, that the most of 
the drawing should be done between the first two 
sets of rollers. But why are there three, four and 
sometimes five sets ? Have manufacturers and 
machine buiklers been throw^ing all this labor, 
material and power away ? It could not be possi- 
ble ; and so he set himself to work to find a use 
for the third and fourth sets of rollers in a draw- 
ing frame. He thought like this : Suppose we 
remove the third set of rollers and do all the draw- 
ing between two sets ; then we must weight the 
back roller heavy enough to hold the sliver while 
the front rollers draw it out. In a word, we must 
put as much weight on the back set as we now 



WILSON'S COTTON" CARDERS' COMPANION. 83 

have on two sets (if they are rightly adjusted), 
and that amount of weight would soon spoil the 
top rollers of the back set. But if we can divide 
the weight necessary to hold the sliver while it is 
being drawn among two or three sets of rollers 
and make them all hold, then the weight of each 
individual set of back rollers will be comparatively 
light, and the top rollers will keep in good condi- 
tion and last a long time. Once more, by way of 
illustrating and enforcing this first rule : Pick up 
a sliver of drawing, take it between the thumb 
and forefinger of both hands and grip it in two 
places ; let there be a space of a half inch be- 
tween the two grips ; pull apart a little, gently, and 
it will be perceived that there is a little give or 
yield before separation takes place. That little 
give is taking out the curl of the fibre, straighten- 
ing it preparatory to drawing out, or a separation 
of fibres and attenuation of sliver 5 and that give 
or yield is the exact amount of draught required 
between the two or more sets of back rollers ; no 
more is needed, and less would be about the same 
as none at all. In this manner all the sets of back 
rollers hold, whether two or more, and the front set 
does the drawing, and that is right. 

But somebody says — '^ I draw nearly as much 
between my middle and back rollers as I do be- 
tween the front and middle sets. I divide my 
draught pretty nearly equal on drawing frames." 
You are not the first uuiu who has done that same 
thing, and probably not the only man who is doing 
it now. But there is a more excellent way to draw 
cotton sliver. The construction of drawing frames 
seems to say very plainly that they were not de- 
signed for such use. If it is proper to draw as 
much between middle and back as between front 



84 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

and middle^ then most certainly they should be set 
as near together, which is not the case. Again : if 
we undertake to equalize this draught, we must 
weight them all equally ; and more than that, we 
must put more weight on each set than we are 
called to do when it is drawn according to rule, for 
it will draw harder in both places. Another man 
says — " I do not draw the same between both sets 
of rollers, but I draw some between the middle 
and back sets — considerably less than between the 
front and middle. I think that the best way." So 
it is, if the "some" is small enough ; but if you draw 
enough to separate fibres there, it is very hard work 
— hard for rollers — and it will not draw even ; it 
cannot ; the rollers are too far apart ; it won't come 
out regular, but in flakes. Draw just enough to 
take the curl out of the fibre, and you are right. 

The question now arises. How much should we 
draw between back sets of rollers ? What should 
the draught be, as shown by figures ? Well, that 
depends somewhat upon circumstances ; it depends 
upon how much the fibre is curled up. We find it 
most curled in card slivers, and therefore should 
draw more between back sets of rollers in railways. 
And this takes us back to where we started. The 
other two rules will be explained as we progress in 
this chapter. We may allow a draught of from 
1.25 to 1.50, as figures show (see remarks on 
draught, Chapter VL), between the two back 
sets, and from 1.15 to 1.25 between the middle sets 
on a railway-head, and do the rest of the drawing 
between the two front sets. We may draw more 
in these places on a railway than a drawing frame, 
for the reason that the fibre is most curled there. 
The whole draught on a railway, w^here eveners are 
attached, is necessarily variable, and most railways 



wiLso:sr's cotton carders' companion. 85 

have them in these times. They are a very impor- 
tant and useful appendage. Some object to them 
on account of the constant changes in draught ; 
but let it be remembered that we are obliged to 
have these changes in draught or changes in 
weight. The former are preferable. As railways 
take the slivers of a section of cards varying in 
number from six to twelve^ and as there is more 
or less stopping of cards for stripping, grinding, 
accidents and laps running through, without 
eveners it is impossible to avoid light work unless 
it is broken and taken out, and that operation 
makes a great deal of waste, which is always to 
be deprecated. There is an arrangement through 
a double set of draught gears by which the absence 
of the end from one card is made up ; but it is 
only one. If two ends are out the work must be 
light, and nothing seems to remedy such evils 
except the evener. That is not all the benefit of 
the evener: it acts in the other direction, also^ 
giving notice of, and counteracting heavy work, 
though there is not usually so much trouble with 
the latter as the former. 

The proper point at which to regulate an evener 
belt on the cones is about one-fourth the distance 
from the large end of the driving cone ; and the 
cones, and the whole evener work, should be of 
sufficient compass to counteract the absence of 
three ends from the cards. The whole draught 
of a railway may vary from three to five where 
there are eveners, and where there are none it may 
be set at four and a half But here is an excep- 
tion to the third rule laid down, viz : to increase 
as it progresses from one frame to another. A rail- 
way should, as a general thing, draw more than the 
first head of drawing proper, for the reason that 
the sliver is heaviest and the most curled state of 



86 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANION. 

the fibre exists there. The weight necessary to ap- 
ply to the top rollers of a railway, or drawing frame 
of any kind, should be exactly enough to hold, not a 
pound more. In many modern railways there is a 
rack by which the weight of all the rollers is con- 
nected and the power applied with one long lever 
and one weight. This is a good arrangement. 
Let the carder experiment with the weight until 
he '^ touches bottom/' or has reduced weight until 
it will not hold to draw ; then increase until it 
will hold. 

We should have no more power applied to the 
top rollers of a railway-head or drawing frame 
than is absolutely necessary, for three reasons : 
First, an extra amount excites more electricity than 
the right amount, and there is enough of that un- 
der the most favorable circumstances; second, it 
is an unnecessary wear and tear of top rollers ; 
third, it requires more power to drive it. There 
should be no draught between the front set of rolls 
and the calender rolls, either in a railway or a 
drawing frame. 

It used to be the rule to have a little draught 
in that place ; it was supposed to be necessary. 
In a drawing frame the front fluted roller is usu- 
ally one and one-quarter inches in diameter, and 
the calender roll two and one-half; the old arrange- 
ment was the following : Suppose there were 36 
teeth in the driving gear on the front roller, then 
it was thought there must be a gear of 71 teeth 
on the calender roll, giving the thin, gauze-like 
sliver a slight draught. A little reflection will 
enable any one to realize the impropriety of draw- 
ing cotton in this place. First, the long distance 
between these two sets of rollers — usually from 
ten to thirteen inches ; second, the condition of the 
sliver, so thin and delicate that a breath will sever 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 87 

it ] and when we come to apply a continual strain 
to it, in the shape of a draught, it must necessarily 
make it uneven. There is usually contraction 
enough in the fibre of cotton to keep it straight 
in this place while running exactly square — that is, 
no draught at all ; and when there is considerable 
electricity excited and the air is dry, a draught 
here becomes intolerable, is exceedingly difficult 
to manage and materially injures the work. The 
writer is aware that railway-heads and drawing 
frames are built and arranged for a slight draught 
here, and that the general opinion of machine 
builders and carders is that it must be so, that the 
frames will not run without it ; and this is an old, 
deep-rooted and long-settled conviction ; probably 
nothing but an actual trial will dissipate this illu- 
sion. If the rolls are accurate, the front exactly 
one and one-quarter inches, and the calender ex- 
actly two and one-half inches in diameter, then 
there may be a 36-teeth driver on the front roll 
and a 72-teeth driven on the calender, or in that 
proportion for any other number of teeth, and it 
will run nicely. The author has run drawing in 
this manner for years ; he knows what he is talk- 
ing about, and he claims to be the discoverer of 
the draught error, and the author of the "new de- 
parture." A trial will satisfy the most sceptical 
of the correctness of it. 

The doublings proper commence with the rail- 
way-head ; the number of course depends on the 
number of cards that run into one head ; it may 
be six, nine, ten, twelve or fourteen. The speed 
of the front roll of a railway is necessarily vari- 
able w^here there are eveners attached, as here is 
the variation of draught. Medium speed of a 
front roll one and one-half inches in diameter may 
be about 370 revolutions per minute ; maximum, 



88 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

390. The above kinds of speed will answer very 
well where there are stop motions attached, but 
where there are none, they should run slower, as 
when railways run very fast, without stop motions, 
when the front roller rolls up it is liable to do a 
large amount of mischief in a short time. 

Speculations have been indulged in as to why 
the front roller of a railway and drawing frame is 
larger than the other rolls. The inquiry has been 
raised, " What is the object ? Are they any better 
than they would be if the rollers were all of one 
size ?" The author never heard any one say aught 
in answer to these questions ; but he will venture 
a guess, based on his knowledge of such things in 
general. The reason for it is probably to save run- 
ning the front roller as many revolutions in a given 
time as it would be necessary to do if they were 
all alike. There is no particular objection to run- 
ning a railway or drawing frame at a high speed, 
if they are provided with modern stop-motions. 
The work is as w^ell done on high as low speed, 
notwithstanding there are many of a contrary 
opinion. The w^riter once took charge of a room 
where there was a superabundance of drawing, 
and he thought it would be a good time to improve 
his work by diminishing speed of drawing ; for 
that purpose he reduced the speed of one-quarter 
from 350 revolutions of the front roll to 240, and 
kept the work separate, and it w^as spun separate, 
numbered and tested separate, and it was found to 
be no better than the other yarn made from draw- 
ing running at high speed. 

Electricity is excited more or less by all rail- 
ways and drawing frames, and the same causes and 
cures are applicable to both kinds of frames. The 
general cause is friction ; and when the air is dry 
it is a non-conductor, and hence the electricity ex- 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 89 

cited remains to trouble the work ; and sometimes 
it acts very badly. To get rid of this annoyance 
several kinds of treatment are resorted to, all of 
which are more or less effective. Pointed wires 
are sometimes suspended over drawing belts, and 
a channel of escape is thus opened into a sprinkler 
pipe or some other iron passage; a portion may be 
gotten rid of in that manner. Steam pipes are 
sometimes opened, and a little loose steam let out 
in the room soon dampens the air and makes it a 
conductor; then the electricity vanishes. But pre- 
vention is better than cure. First, have no more 
weight on rollers than is absolutely necessary ; 
second, keep rollers well oiled — don't let them heat 
up; third, don't let stirrups chafe the rolls, and avoid 
all unnecessary friction everywhere; fourth, put 
a coat of varnish on rolls that are old, rough and 
dry [See Recipe, Chapter VI.] ; but after all 
has been done as a preventive that can be done, 
then resort to some of the methods mentioned 
above to conduct it away. When no more con- 
venient means are at hand, set buckets of hot 
water about the railways and drawing frames ; the 
air will soon grow moist and take the troublesome 
fluid, or as it is called in these days, "force," 
away. 

It is essential to good drawing that the top 
rollers be looked after very closely^ both in rail- 
ways and drawing frames. Where solid rollers are 
in use, the front ones call for very frequent oiling, 
owing to the heavy weight necessary. If they 
get a little warm and dry they will make heavy 
work, if they don't cut. It won't do to put on 
much at a time ; little and often is the rule ; for if 
the leather gets saturated with oil it soon becomes 
an old, worthless roller. The patent weighting 
apparatus saves rolls considerably. Taking the 

8* 



90 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

weight off over Sundays and holidays prevents 
them from being pressed out of shape. This same 
arrangement is also very useful in removing weights 
at any time. Owing to the fact that the doffers 
and feed of cards are driven by the railway and 
consequently stop when the railway stops^ as the 
main cylinder throws some extra cotton on to the 
doffers, and when they start are apt to break down 
more or less ends, thus causing an irregularity in 
the sheet as it goes to the railway : for these 
reasons it is desirable to run railways as regularly 
and stop as seldom as possible and as short a time 
as may be when they are stopped. In case of a 
" roll up " it is often necessary to remove the 
weights from rollers. Railways weighted in the 
old style take much more time than the new, and 
on that account, in addition to others mentioned, 
the new style are preferable to the old. 

When any of the small rollers in a railway or 
drawing frame need to be changed, always work 
the old ones back, and put the new one in next to 
the front. Never put a new roll in backside ; it 
can and should be better employed, while an old 
one will hold very well in that place. Where shell 
rollers are used, much of the trouble experienced 
with solid rolls vanishes at once ; they are the 
great invention, so far as top rollers are concerned. 
Once in two weeks is often enough to oil railway 
front top shell rollers, rather than once in two hours, 
as is often the case with solid ones. The writer 
can hardly refrain from speaking in the highest 
terms of the shell roller, though it is not the object 
of this volume to commend any machine ; but he 
may be warranted in doing so, perhaps, under 
these circumstances : He never was acquainted 
with the inventor, or any of his agents ; never so 
much as spoke with either • it is not on their ac- 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 91 

count he speaks^ although the inventor is most 
certainly worthy of the highest commendation ; but 
he speaks for the whole cotton manufacturing in- 
terest : owners, treasurers, superintendents and all 
factory operatives : men, women and children. Let 
it be understood, then, that shell rollers are a 
saving of oil, rolls and labor ; that they make 
better work, besides cleaner, better looking and 
more easy to handle. 

Modern railways, with all the improvements 
attached — stop motion, evener, patent weighting 
apparatus and shell roller — are very complete and 
elTective machines. Eveners are worthy the name 
they bear. When the cotton is dry and sliver 
needs to be lighter than at any other time, 
they make it so; because the fibres at such times 
stand out and create more friction in the trumpet. 
On the other hand, when the air is damp, and the 
cotton has absorbed a quantity of water (and 
should on that account be heavier) the fibres lie 
down smooth and go through the trumpet easily, 
and the same bulk is heavier. Again : when an 
end breaks down, they adapt themselves to the 
circumstances immediately, and the deficiency is 
counteracted. Keep them in order, and they are 
faithful servants. 

So much has been said under the head of rail- 
ways, which are a kind of drawing frame, possess- 
ing many of their common characteristics, that as 
a matter of course what has been said is necessarily 
equally applicable to both, and but little remains 
to be said of the latter. Where no railways are 
used, the first head of drawing may draw more be- 
tween the back and middle rollers than any that 
succeed it. [See reason explained under head of 
railway.] We find drawing frames with three, four 
and five sets of rolls. With a three or four-roll 



92 WILSON'S COTTON CAEDERS' COMPANION. 

head the back sets should all be made to hold^ and 
the principal drawing be done between the two 
front sets, as already explained. With a five roll 
head they may be, and generally are, arranged as 
two sets, or more properly do the work of two or- 
dinary frames. 'J he three back sets (two small and 
one large) correspond to the common three-roll head, 
and should be managed the same. After passing 
these it usually passes through a guide before enter- 
ing the two front sets. During this passage it needs 
no draught. After entering the two front sets it 
passes another drawing process, similar to the one 
already passed : the only difference is one back top 
roller holds it while being drawn, instead of two, 
as in the other case. This latter plan is open to 
objections already made. The front roller of a 
drawing frame may run anywhere from 350 to 400 
revolutions per minute. 

There are various devices to fill or crowd cans, 
such as coilers, plungers and plates, or, as called by 
some, crowders. The only difficulty with any of 
the above arrangements is, they are often allowed 
to run too full and crimp or snarl the drawing. 
Change the cans Vv^hen moderately full, and there 
is no trouble with any of them. The objection to 
crowders has been so great in some places that 
they have been entirely dispensed wuth — no 
crow^ders of any kind ; the girl crowds the draw- 
ing with her hand, and this is generally the most 
irregular kind of crowding that drawling gets. 
Drawing is improved by being condensed a little 
by a groove in the bottom, a tongue in the top 
calender rolls and a little weight applied to the 
top roller. 

Doubling and drawing are as closely connected 
as faith and works. If we have one we must have 
the other ; they must go together. If we should 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEES^ COMPANION. 93 

undertake to draw card sliver (as delivered from 
the card without any doubling) enough to lay the 
fibres parallel, we should get it down so small be- 
fore the object would be accomplished that we 
could do nothing with it. But by doubling we 
are enabled to do this perfectly, and at the same 
time equalize the different strands so that they are 
all alike, or nearly so, in weight per yard. 

The philosophy of drawing, as applied to cotton, 
is to displace the fibres, or a portion of them, in 
such manner as to elongate the strand or thread, 
as the case may be, and in proportion as it is 
elongated it is made lighter. This drawing out 
fibres by rollers running at different speeds is done 
the easiest and in the most perfect manner when 
the draught is considerable ; the more the draught 
the fewer fibres are displaced, or drawn out, at a 
time. The writer would not be understood to intimate 
that there is no limit to draught. What he wishes 
to be understood as saying is, that a draught of 
four can be performed easier and more satisfactory 
than a draught of two. Just draught enough to 
separate the fibres is the hardest kind of draught — 
the hardest for rolls, hardest for the fibres, and it 
takes more power. This is the reason why it is 
not well to draw between the two sets of back 
rollers in any drawing or roving frames. Take 
up a piece of railway drawing and grip it tightly 
between the thumb and forefinger of both hands ; 
leave a space of about an inch and a-quarter be- 
tween the two bites, and then pull hard enough to 
separate it. That will show the power necessary 
to draw a little. Then take up a piece of the same 
kind and hold in one hand as before, and with the 
other thumb and forefinger take hold of a few 
fibres and draw them out ; repeat rapidly ; and 
that will show the power required to draw consid- 



94 WILSON'S cotto:n' cakders' companion. 

erably^ and it will be found to be much less than 
the former. The draught necessary for back sets 
of rollers has been explained. The draught of all 
frames^ drawing and roving, should increase as it 
progresses from one frame to another^ with the 
single exception of the railway-head, or first head 
of drawing, where there are no railways. There 
are two reasons for this. First, it is growing 
lighter ; second, it draws easier the farther it goes ; 
that is, it draws easier in a coarse speeder than in 
the last head of drawing ; and it draws easier in 
an intermediate than in the coarse speeder, and so 
on. 

Top rollers should be perfectly round, straight 
and both ends of a size. Cover the front ones 
with good calf skin ; sheep skin will do for back 
ones, though calf is better, more reliable and does 
not bed down so quick. There is in most modern 
drawing frames a traverse attached. Rolls wear 
better with them than without them, though it is 
necessary to weight a little heavier with the 
ordinary traverse. 

There is a traverse motion in existence, so ar- 
ranged that the two ends under the same rollers 
traverse in opposite directions instead of both go- 
ing one way, as they do on the old plan. Tt is 
said they require less weight and are consequently 
better. The writer has never seen any of them, 
but has read of them in Draper's book, and judges 
that they may be an improvement. 

Clearers for top rollers in railways and drawing 
frames should not be allowed to run so long as to 
have the cloth worn entirely smooth. 

The best kind of saddles for solid top rollers in 
drawing frames are those bushed with green hide, 
whether hooks or saddles, dead weights or lever 
weights ; and when they get w^orn^ renew them. 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEES' COMPANION. 95 

It is well to weigh railway drawing twice a day, 
as a general thing. Have a standard weight per 
j^ard, and keep it as near the standard as possible 
by changing the weight of the evener when it is 
found to be too light or too heavy. 

Drawing frames should be kept clean and tidy 
and in perfect order, so that they will run well and 
avoid piecing as much as possible, and also save 
making waste to be re-worked. The less piecing 
and less waste there is made the better for the 
work. 

The driving belts should be allowed to run as 
loosely as they will drive, they stop so much bet- 
ter than with a tight belt, or rather the stop- 
motion works more satisfactorily and less ends run 
through. 

We may sum up drawing about as follows : The 
doubling in the railway-head will be according to 
the number of cards that furnish it, from 6 to 14. 
Draught, medium, 4i- ; speed of front roll (li inches 
diameter), 375 revolutions per minute ; first head, 
double two or three into one draught, 3i ; speed of 
front roll (li inches diameter), 400 revolutions per 
minute ; third head, double three into one, draught 
Sh to 31; speed of front roll (li inches diameter), 
400 revolutions per minute. 



CHAPTER V. 
Speeders. 

GENERAL REMARKS — ISTAMES — TWO KINDS OF POWER — DRAW- 
ING WITH ROLLERS— WINDING — TENSION .* HOW TO REGULATE 
— A NEW APPLIANCE — TWIST: HOW TO CALCULATE — HANK: 
WHAT IS IT — THE OBJECT OF TWIST — A RULE — VARIATIONS 
WHEN MADE — BALANCE WEIGHTS — SPEED OF ROLLS AND 
FLYERS IN DIFFERENT FRAMES — FLYERS: HOW BALANCED 

— RAIL RUNNING BY: HOW TO GUARD AGAINST IT — OIL — 
BELTS — DANCING BOBBINS : WHAT CAUSES THEM, AND HOW 
TO CURE — TRAVERSE FOR TRUMPET ROD — RECAPITULATION 

— PROGRESSIVE DOUBLINGS AND DRAWING. 

After the sliver of cotton has been drawn to a 
certain tenuity, and the number correspondingly 
multiplied; fibres mostly parallel and pretty well 
straightened out, in order to continue the process 
it is necessary to twist it, to make it hold its shape^ 
and also to make it more convenient to handle, as 
ends increase in number. We used to employ 
for this purpose, what we called " speeders and 
stretchers," and though the work is done now in a 
somewhat similar manner, the number of frames 
has been increased, plan of construction modified, 
manner of tending almost a new trade, and names 
changed. " Speeder and stretcher " have been for 
many years peculiarly American. While " slubber 
and fly-frame " have been, and are now, peculiarly 
English terms. " Speeders " are the names applied 
to roving frames in this country, within a few years 
past. Coarse speeders, intermediate speeders and 
fine speeders compose the list of roving frames ; 
and though there is a striking similarity in general 
principle between all these frames, yet in detail 
there is a great difference. 



WILSON'S COTTOK CARDEKS' COMPANION. 97 

In all these frames there are two motions : one 
absolute and regular ; the other relative and vary- 
ing. The relative and varying motion or speed is 
in all cases produced and regulated by the use of 
a compound and cone or cones. In a speeder the 
relative power is applied to the spindles and rail.^ 
and the absolute to the flyers^ while in the slubber 
and fly frame it is applied to the bobbins on the 
spindles and to the rail, the absolute to spindles, 
and to these the flyers are attached. In either 
case they are about as complex as a watch, and 
require very skillful management in order to secure 
good work. Cotton may receive the most approved 
opening, picking, carding and drawing, and yet it 
may be all spoiled in the roving frames. Though 
these frames are so complicated and delicate, they 
have been brought to a very high state of perfec- 
tion, and when properly adjusted and cared for 
will produce most excellent roving. 

So far as the drawing with rollers is concerned, 
it should be regulated the same as drawing frames, 
as described in a preceding chapter. On a coarse 
speeder or a slubber it is not customary to double, 
though it is sometimes done two into one. The 
draught of a coarse speeder may be from four to 
four and a half, as required to furnish the right 
weight. 

Next comes twist. [See remarks on twnst and 
twist table in Chapter VI.] 

Next comes winding on the bobbin ; and there 
are two or three things in this particular equally 
applicable to all kinds of roving frames, whether 
they are the old soft bobbin or the pressor, whether 
they have heads, are straight, or double taper. 
First, regulate the speed of the rail so that the 
roving, as it is wound on the barrel of the bobbin, 
will exactly cover, neither pile up nor show spaces 

9 



98 WILSON'S COTTON CAEDERS' COMPANION. 

between the coils, but make a smooth layer- 
almost as smooth and straight as the barrel itself; 
and as roving varies in size in different seasons of 
the j^ear, and in consequence of changes in the at- 
mosphere between dry and damp, it is necessary 
to look out for these changes^ and make calcula- 
tions accordingly. There are those who tell us 
exactly what the diameter of every variety of 
hank roving is, bur as they have forgotten to tell 
us whether it was in January or in dog-days, when 
they measured it^ or how hard it was twisted, or 
anything of this kind, we can place very little 
reliance on such information. The space in this 
volume does not permit us to go into calculations 
in this direction, and it is a matter that more par- 
ticularly belongs to machine builders than carders^ 
though it is well for every carder to understand it; 
and the author may at a future time go into such 
a work ; but let it suffice at present to say, that 
machines are usually built with reference to the 
hank sought — so near generally that they can be 
adjusted with gears to suit the circumstances. 
Make the first layer of roving just cover the bar- 
rel of the bobbin. Second, never allow any draught 
between the front roller and the bobbin ; watch 
the tension close ; keep it loose, for if it draws 
hard there it will certainly be spoiled. Drawing 
in this place is more injurious than it is in the 
drawing frame, between the front fluted and cal- 
ender rolls, because it is lighter. It is true, we 
twist it in a roving frame, but with most kinds of 
speeders, and the back row of ends on a fly fiame 
or slubber, there is a little thin place drawing over 
a portion of the rolls so close that the twist does 
not run up to the bite of the rolls ; and this is the 
place where the straining is done. The twist usu- 
ally runs up better in slubbers and fly frames than 



WILSON'S COTTON CAEDERS' COMPANION. 99 

in speeders, for the reason that it don't drop down 
so suddenly, and the half-turn round of the flyer- 
nose has a tendency to throw the twist back some. 
There is a tube put in the nose of the flyer of a 
speeder which helps throw twist back, and it is a 
very good thing. A Providence, K. I., firm puts 
in such tubes when desired. If speeder roll stands 
inclined a little more from back to front, it would 
help throw twist back nearer the bite of the rolls. 
All these things are safeguards ; but let it be un- 
derstood that none of them, nor all of them together, 
will counteract a draught in this place, and it 
should never be allowed under any circumstances. 
The tension in this place is constantly changing 
and needs to be watched and changed as occasion 
calls. On the old soft work, or what we used to 
call "stretchers and speeders," there is not much 
chance to change tension conveniently. There is 
usually a chance to change the cone belt, or rather 
its position on the cone, at the starting point an 
inch or more, and that is all ; if more is wanted, 
as is often the case, there must or ought to be a 
change of racks to finer or coarser as needed. 
This involves great labor, but it is the only way 
the writer know^s to do it on that kind of frame. 
There may be some of the old geared cones run- 
ning yet, somewhere in the country, and if there 
are it is necessary, in order to change the tension 
on such, to change an entire set of gears on both 
cones, and this requires more labor still ; but it is 
the only way to do it. Fly frames and slubbers 
are easily managed in this particular, and are usu- 
ally provided with a number of change gears, which 
are very convenient and may be used to any de- 
sired extent. The Lowell speeder double-taper 
bobbin also has a very convenient change of gears 
for this purpose. 



100 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

In addition to what the builders have provided 
for regulating the tension of these frames, Mr. 
Jabez Edwards, of the Merrimack Manufacturing 
Company, Lowell, Mass., has invented and secured 
a patent on a very useful and convenient appliance 
to assist in this particular. The guide through 
which the cone belt runs is so arranged by means 
of two inclined slots running in opposite directions 
meeting at the top, and from that point diverging, 
downward, regulated by a pin passing through the 
slots and attached to a burr or rod, underneath the 
regular bar on which the cone belt stand slides. 
This lower bar is held in a socket in the stand 
where the spring is coiled, at one end ; the other 
end is held by a bolt in a slide at the end of the 
cones, and can be lowered or raised at pleasure a 
distance of some three and a half inches by simply 
loosening the nut on the bolt. The effect is to 
change the position of the belt on the cones at 
once, and also to change the rate of the let-off. 
Suppose we find a frame drawing or winding too 
tight, where this patent is attached, we raise the 
bar a trifle ; this throws the cone belt ahead 
slightly, and the trouble is remedied at once, and 
at the same time the rate is changed ; it now lets 
off more each time than it did before. Again : 
suppose we find a frame winding too loose : the 
girl who tends it would say — "My frame runs 
slack." We lower the end of the bar a little, and 
that throws the cone belt back a trifle, and it 
tightens up immediately, at the same time changing 
the rate ; it lets off less at each time now. The 
advantage of this appliance is — first, it remedies 
an existing irregularity at once, w^iich changing 
gears does not, but they must have considerable time 
to adapt themselves, or the work, to the new let- 
off, and it makes some bad work the while 5 second, 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 101 

it is quickly done ; there is no danger of letting 
the chain slip and the belt on the cone losing its 
place, the nut being lowered on the builder screw, 
or anything of the sort ; it is all safe, easy, effective 
and comfortable. This arrangement is equivalent 
to a change of three teeth in a 50-teeth gear, when 
it is moved the whole distance ; and if more is 
wanted, the gears are at hand to do it, in addition 
to the regulator. 

The writer does not claim that he has given an 
intelligent description of this appliance ; perhaps 
it cannot be given without drawings ; but he thinks 
every carder will understand and appreciate its 
work. Mr. Edwards, the inventor, is a veteran 
carder, and a man who has invented and applied a 
great many important improvements to carding 
machinery. This is the only one he has ever 
patented, and this one is shut up in a few frames 
in the Merrimack Manufacturing Company's mills 
in Lowell, Mass. The reason is his genius, indus- 
try and perseverance are only excelled by his 
modesty. He has scarcely told anybody that he 
has such a thing ; but it is of too much impor- 
tance to be thus concealed. Cotton manufacturers 
should have the benefit of it, and they surely will 
when it is known. 

Tension varies more in frames where the presser 
is used than on soft w^ork, for the reason that the 
bobbins of roving don't yield so much ; but there 
should be no strain allowed in this place on any 
kind of frames. 

Next in order is twist. It has been a question 
of considerable importance to carders to know ex- 
actly how much to twist roving in order to secure 
the greatest production, and at the same time make 
it strong enough to hold and run well, and handle 
without difficulty. The square root of the hank 

9* 



102 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

has been adopted as a basis on which to work — 
not that it has anything in particular to do ^\ith it, 
only as it forms a regular scale on which to work. 
There are twist-tables in abundance; they are 
about as varied as the men who made them. Some 
twist-table manufticturers understand their business, 
and others do not ; some are made on a reguhir 
grading scale, others are not. There are some rules 
that should be adopted in establishing roving tw^ist 
for any kind of frames. First, there should be a 
regular grading scale used ; second, the same rule 
should be used for all kinds, i e.. coarse, interme- 
diate and fine, on the same class of frames. 

In order to a proper understanding of this 
subject, and to begin at the bottom, we will first 
consider the term "hank." A hank of roving or 
yarn (cotton) is 840 yards ; and when we say 
half-hank, we mean that 420 yards of such weigh 
a pound; three-fourths of a hank (630 yard.^) 
weigh a pound; one hank (840 yards) weighs a 
pound; two hanks (1680 yards) weigh a pound: 
and so on of all kinds. When we use the square 
root of the hank as a basis to work on in estab- 
lishing twist, it is the general custom to multiply 
the square root of the hank by some number 
uniformly, from the lowest to the highest, as for 
instance : 1.20 is a favorite multiplier by our Eng- 
lish brethren for fly frames. That means to multi- 
ply all kinds of hank, from the coarsest slubber to 
the finest fly frame, by 1.20 to get the proper twist, 
and the same of any other multiplier. Any one 
may tell the first time he puts his eye on a twist 
table (no matter whose) what the maker used for 
a multiplier, that is, if the table is regular. See 
what the twist of 1 hank roving is, as the square 
root of 1 is always 1 ; whatever it says twist 1 
hank, is the multiplier used. We have said that 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COxMPANION. 103 

where the square root is used as a basis for calcu- 
lating twist, it is the general custom to use some 
number as a multiplier ; and it is, though the rule 
has exceptions, as there are some who use the 
square root '' straight/' without any multiplier at 
all. In that case the twist of 1 hank would be 1 
turn of twist to the inch, and so on in that propor- 
tion for all kinds of hank. We find different 
parties in these days using for a multiplier of the 
square root of the hank as a basis for twist of rov- 
ing, numbers all the way from 1.05 to 1.48, or 
rather, w^e find twist that would require such vari- 
ety of numbers as that to give them. 

The object of tw^ist is to put roving in compact 
form — so compact as to hold together in good order 
to wind on the bobbin, as it is made in the frame, 
and render off in the creels of other roving and 
spinning frames, without stretching or straining 
in the process^ and that is all the twist that is 
needed ; more is injurious. A twist table will be 
found in the chapter of tables^ with as small in- 
tervals as is practicable. The square root of the 
hank is carefully w^orked out and placed opposite 
everv number ; the fraction is carried out three 
figures 5 that is far enough for all practical pur- 
poses. The multiplier that is used is 1.24, and it 
is designed for the Lowell speeder, double taper 
bobbins. The writer has used such twist on these 
same frames with success for a number of years. 
He would recommend that number as a multiplier 
for the square root of the hank roving for that 
kind of frames — 1.20 for fly frames and slubbers ; 
1.18 for soft w^ork, where there are no pressors. He 
would not lay down an arbitrary rule to be fol- 
lowed under all circumstances ; but it is well to 
have a rule, and vary from it when necessary, never 
unnecessarily nor for any outside reason. It should 



104 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANION. 

never enter the mind of a carder to increase or 
decrease twist, to increase or decrease quantity, 
though it is often done. Never try to twist roving 
hard enough to overcome tension in roving frames, 
bad steps, or dull skewers in roving or spinning 
frames. After the twist has once been put right 
it should never be changed for any of the above 
reasons. 

When to vary from the rule : Increase — First, 
when the roving breaks or stretches between the 
creel and the back roll ; if everything else is right 
increase twist until it holds ; second, unusually 
high speed of frames sometimes calls for more 
than ordinary twist ; third, unusually heavy bob- 
bins and unusually short staple of cotton need 
more twist in either case. Decrease — First, when 
it is noticed that roving worms about between 
rollers and does not draw well : if everything else 
is right decrease twist until it draws through 
straight ; second, unusually low speed of frames, 
light bobbins or long staple may in either case do 
with less tw^ist. 

Steps in creels of roving or spinning frames and 
the points of skewers should be kept in order all 
the time, or the roving will suffer. Presses on all 
kinds of frames should have a uniform power of 
spring, and be kept at right angles with the bobbin, 
especially on double-taper bobbins. An interme- 
diate roving frame may draw from 4.75 to 5.10 ; a 
fine speeder from 6 to 6.50. 

Flyers should be well polished out inside, to in- 
sure a smooth passage for roving through them. 
Balance weights for rails — either bobbin or spindle 
— should either be lighter than the rail with bob- 
bins empty, or heavier than the rail with bobbins 
full, as it makes it very bad when they just about 
balance each other. In that case the rail will run 



WILSON'S C0TT0:N^ CAKDEKS' COMPANIOlSr. 105 

unsteadily and vary in its motion all the back 
lash will allow, will not wind well, or make a 
smooth bobbin of roving. They should hang all 
the time one way or the other. The speed of the 
front roll in a coarse speeder may be from 180 to 
200 revolutions per minute; the flyer, from 675 
to 700 ; intermediate front roll, from 150 to 160 ; 
flyer, from 880 to 900; fine front roll, from 112 
to 120 ; flyer, from 1150 to 1200. The improved 
fly frame and slubber long tubes may run as fast 
as the speeder, but the old style, where the im- 
provements are wanting, must run more slowly. 
It is of the greatest importance that flyers are 
properly balanced ; if they are not, in fly frames 
the spindles will wear one-sided, and in speeders, 
the noses of flyers wear the same. It is difficult 
to balance flyers with the pressor on, and they 
must be so balanced. As the pressor is constantly 
changing position, of course the run of the flyer 
is affected. The proper way to balance them is to 
do it on the fly and fasten the pressor half-way 
between the barrel of the bobbin and the outside. 
Balanced in this manner they will throw one w^ay 
on the start, and the other way w^hen it is full ; 
that is the best that can be done. 

It sometimes happens with a slubber or a fly 
frame, and occasionally with a speeder, that the 
rail motion does not change and the rail continues 
to move up or dow^n, as the case may be, until it 
comes in contact with something strong enough to 
stop it. When such things take place there is a 
^^ smash up," frequently doing a great amount of 
mischief in a short time. There are various causes 
that produce such results. In a slubber or fly 
frame any little stick of the upright shaft, with 
the bevel gear on top, blanks in it for the driver to 
run in at all times, except when changing. If this 



106 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

shaft happens to stick, so as not to start when the 
builder has passed up or down by the arm, then 
the rail continues to move on, and trouble follows. 
Of course accidents will sometimes happen, but 
frequent examinations and careful management 
will prevent many of them. It is well to have a 
smart spring drawing at the bottom of this shaft, 
so that when the builder passes the spring will 
immediately start and the gear take into it. Some- 
times the bevel gears at the top of this shaft do 
not take in right ; then a gear is broken, and per- 
haps other mischief done. It is quite a trade to 
set these gears right; it is best to set the first tooth 
next the blank, about half the thickness of a 
tooth from the driver, instead of setting it as close 
as it will run, as is the rule with some. In a 
speeder or ''' stretcher," where the rail is carried by 
cams, the rail never runs by 5 but the rack and 
pinion principle as applied to these frames is the 
same as a fly frame, though the changes are made 
differently ; they sometimes run by. It is impor- 
tant to have everything connected with the change 
and rail motions adjusted so as to act free. In the 
Lowell speeder double taper, at the point where 
the traverse is longest, the rail goes very near the 
ladder and the floor, so if they do run by they 
cannot go far, though it makes great trouble when 
they do. Everything about them should be thor- 
oughly screwed up, to start with, and watched, as 
wood shrinks and other things take place to loosen 
nuts. 

It is well to have dripping pans under all kinds 
of roving frames, the w4iole length and breadth of 
every kind. This is not generally practised with 
fly irames, but it would be better to do so, as more 
or less oil gets on the floor and will in time w^ork 
through. A mixture of one- third sperm and two- 



WILSON'S cotto:n^ carders' companiois^. 107 

thirds Downie's parafBiie oil makes a very good 
lubricator for carding room machinery — better, in 
some respects, than clear sperm oil, as it will not 
gum and is cheaper. 

The beauty of a roving frame of any kind is to 
have it sit level and straight, so that everything 
will run perfectly easy. If the spindle or bobbin 
rail goes at all hard, it will strain the roving ; so 
of cones, or the compound, unless the bobbin leads, 
and in that case the ends will run loose, which 
is not as bad as straining, though it is bad enough. 
In either case they should go free, and for the 
purpose of keeping them so, the suggestions above 
should be heeded ; and in addition, keep them 
clean and well oiled. Perhaps it should be men- 
tioned that the above-named oil has been charged 
with staining cotton when it gets on it, and that the 
stains will not bleach out very readily. All this 
trouble may be avoided by using clear sperm for 
rolls, spindles and pressers, and the other for all 
underneath work. 

Cone belts should not be made of hard or stiff 
leather ; if they are it is difficult to make them 
hold, and if they do not hold well the same results 
follow that have been mentioned in connection with 
hard-going rails or spindles. Belts for speeders 
should not be so tight as to start the frame with 
a jerk ; if they are there is a liability to be a slip 
of the cone belts and a straining of roving 

Bobbins sometimes " dance " and cause bad 
winding, and consequently strain roving. There 
are various causes for dancing bobbins. First, the 
spindle or bobbin shaft may be out of true and 
cause a throw. If it is so, straighten it at once. 
Second, a little .bunch of cotton or some other sub- 
stance may have got into the gears that drive. If 
so, remove them. Third, gears may be set too 



]08 WILSON'S COTTOK" CARDERS' COMPANION. 

close, especially spiral bevels. If that is the case, 
set them right. Fourth, the bobbin may be loose 
on the speeder spindle, and the jar of the frame 
produce the dancing. This is a hard disease to 
cure. Exposure to a damp air may help such, but 
don't let them dance. 

There should be a traverse to the trumpet rod 
in all roving frames, and have it work as long as 
the bosses of the rolls will admit. A very quick 
traverse is not so good as 9. more moderate one. 

If a roving frame does not let off at any time, 
and runs up and down two or three times, or until 
the roving gets strained so much that it begins to 
break down, and the girl comes and says — " My 
frame w^on't run ; there don't seem to be any twist 
in the roving " ; then doff that frame, and wind off 
the roving until it comes good. Never let such 
pass into the spinning-room ; it makes abominable 
yarn, and \\\\\ spoil the run of a w^hole web, per- 
haps. It is true that this treatment makes waste, 
and a very bad kind of w^aste to re-work ; but it 
is the lesser of tw^o evils. 

As this is the last process cotton goes through, 
before spinning, it may be well before closing this 
chapter to recapitulate a little. A synopsis of the 
whole thing may be more convenient and satisfac- 
tory, in a work of this character, than to be obliged 
to turn to many different places to find all the par- 
ticulars."^ 

First, then, we will begin with the picker. The 
whole draught in a set of pickers and lappers may 
vary from 4 to 10; card draught, from 60 to 80; 

* The author's manuscript is all in the hands of the printer at 
this time, so far as written and corrected, and he has only two or 
three sheets on hand ; but he thinks he has this subject sufficiently 
well in mind to go over it very nearly as it has been written, and 
he trusts that any small variation under these circumstances may 
be pardoned. 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 109 

rail way s, from 4 to 5 ; first head drawing, from 3 
to Si ; second head^ from 31 to 4 ; coarse speeder^ 
from 4 to 4i; intermediate^ from 41 to 5i; fine 
frames^ 6 to 6i ; slubbers and fly frames^ same as 
speeders ; speed of beaters in a picker or lapper^ 
ordinarily from 1,400 to 1,800, according to size of 
beater ; card cylinders, from 120 to 160^ according 
to circumstances ; front roll in railway, from 325 
to 375 ; drawing, from 350 to 400 ; coarse speeder, 
from 180 to 200; intermediate, from 150 to 160 ; 
fine frame, from 110 to 120; coarse. speeder flyers, 
from 680 to 700; intermediate, from 850 to 900; 
fine frame, from 1,000 to 1,100. 

These speeds are calculated for modern, im- 
proved frames ; if they are old-fashioned or shaky, 
it is not well to run them so fast. For the new 
Higgins and some other machines the builders 
claim that their frames, with long bolsters, centri- 
fugal pressors and other improvements, will run at 
much higher speeds than mentioned above. The 
writer has had some experience with such, and he 
would not recommend running any of them at a 
higher speed than he has mentioned, either for 
quantity or quality. 

One very important matter in carding cotton 
and preparing it for the spinner is to handle care- 
fully in every process. Don't tear laps, snarl 
drawing, bang roving about, or let it lie on frames 
or anywhere else until it is all covered with lint 
and dust. If it must lie, cover it up. Roving is 
best when first made ; whatever may be the case 
with yarn, roving does not improve by age. 

Progressive doublings and drawing have to be 
taken into account in making calculations for a 
new mill or in changing an old one ; and though 
we cannot make exact calculations^ always to be 
depended upon to a fraction of a grain, yet we 

10 



110 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEKS' COMPANION. 

may approximate very nearly to what we desire 
by figures ; and then, when we come to put work 
through the machinery, make such changes as are 
necessary to get the exact thing. The reason why 
such calculations do not always hold out according 
to figures, or give such results practically as a 
correct theory says they will, is owing to the fact 
that machinery is not perfect in all its parts; that 
is to say, all the pulleys, rollers and cylinders may 
not always measure exactly what they are said to 
measure. Again : some part of the work has to 
be estimated. It is not known, nor can it be 
known, exactly how much cotton may be thrown 
off in the shape of waste in working ; but we can 
usually come near enough to warrant a start, and 
then, as has been suggested above, make such 
changes as appear to be necessary to obtain what 
we desire. Take an example : We will suppose a 
certain picker lap weighs 10 ounces or 4,375 grains 
per yard. Whole draught from breaker-lap roll to 
lap-head delivering roll 67.20, which we use for a 
divisor for the weight of lap ; 4,375-^67.20=64.53 
grains as the weight of one yard of breaker sliver, 
as delivered from the card. Next we multiply the 
weight of one yard by the number of cards doubled 
into the lap-head, and we v^ill call the number 75 : 
64.53X75=4,839.75 grains as the weight of one 
yard of finisher lap ; 5 per cent out for loss in card- 
ing where there are no screens, and the flyings re- 
worked =4,594.75 as the real weight of one yard 
of finisher-lap ready to be carded. 66.21 draught 
for finishers, and 4h per cent, for loss, will make a 
yard of drawing sliver from finisher-cards weigh 
66.27 grains; 1.11 out for draught between card 
delivery and the back roll of railway=^63.50 grains 
as the weight of a yard of finisher drawing, as re- 
ceived by the railway. 63.50X9 (the number of 



WILSON'S COTTON^ CAKDERS' COMPANIOlSr. Ill 

finishers into one railway )=571. 50 as the weight 
of one yard of the sheet, as doubled and enters 
the railway to the drawing down; 571.50-^4.50 
(railway draught)=127 as the weight of one yard 
of railway drawing, as delivered from that head. 
127X2 (doublings in first head of drawing)^ 
154-^-3.12 (draught of first head)=8l grains that a 
yard of second head drawing should weigh. 81X3 
(doubling for third head)=243-^3.57 (draught of 
third head)=68 grains as the weight of a yard of 
drawing from the third head. 68-^4.10 (coarse 
speeder draught)=16.58 grains as the weight of a 
yard of coarse speeder roving. 16.58X12 (see 
rule for hank roving)=199 grains to 12 yards. 
100.00-^199=tA hank roving for coarse speeder. 
199X2 (doubling for intermediate)=398. 398-^ 
5.25 (draught of intermediate)=75.80 grains that 
12 yards of intermediate roving will weigh. 
100.00-75.80=1.31 as the hank. 75.80X2= 
151.60 doubling for fine frame. 151.60-^6.50 
(draught of fine frame)=23.32 as the weight of 12 
yards of fine roving. 100.00-23.32=4.31 hank ; 
and if it is desired it can be taken one step farther 
and be put into yarn, though this is not carders' 
business as a general thing. But it is well for 
every carder to understand all about it. 

Suppose the draught of a spinning frame to be 
7.25 ; then 7.25X4.31=31.25 (nearly) as the num- 
ber of the yarn ; but practically we find that it 
would be heavier than figures show, because the 
twist in the yarn takes up a little ; so we find it 
necessary to add three per cent, for this shrinkage, 
or, what is the same thing, subtract three per cent, 
from the number of the yarn as sliown by figures : 
31.25X3=94 (nearly); 31.25-.94=30.31, and 
that is about the number of yarn that such roving 
and spinning draught as described will make. The 



112 WILSON'S COTTOlSr CARDEKS' COMPANION. 

carder can tell what number of yarn the spinner 
is making at any time if he knows his draught. 

The above plan of operation for calculating the 
numbers for a mill is shown above, in principle ; 
any number desired can be worked out in that 
manner. Or, reverse the operation ; begin with 
the yarn, and the weight of picker lap necessary 
to make it will be shown. 

The doublings of a mill are reckoned as follows : 
Suppose three laps are run into one on the finisher 
picker, as is the case in most modern pickers ; if it 
is only two, then begin with two, or if it is only 
one and the doublings don't begin until we come 
to cards, then begin there wherever the doublings 
commence, but for an example we will call it three 
into one on the last picker, 75 into one lap-head, 
10 into one railway, 2 into first head of drawing, 
3 into second head, 2 into intermediate, and 2 into 
fine frame. They would run thus: 3X75XlOX 
2X3X2X2=54,000, and that is enough for ordina- 
ry kinds of work. Doublings are more nowadays 
than formerly, that is, where the carding is double. 
Suppose we take an example of single carding to 
see where we come out, and we will suppose every- 
thing is well adapted to that kind of work. We 
will have to start with the three ends in the picker 
as before, then the ten ends in the railway and the 
rest are all the same: 3X10X2X3X2X2=720 
doublings ; and though it is a fact that so far as 
evening the work is concerned the drawing and 
roving frames do that, yet it is another fact that the 
double carding and more doublings make smoother 
and better work. The writer once worked in a 
place where there were 120 doublings made in the 
following manner : picker 2 into one, single cards 
10 into one, drawing 3 into one, fine frames 2 into 
one: 2X10X3X2=120, and the yarn was not 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEKS' COMPANION. 113 

good, and never will be as long as that plan is 
pursued. Doublings can be carried to any desired 
extent, but if they are carried too far on drawing 
it gets very tender and slippery and don't work 
well. 

Perhaps no better idea of the production of a 
speeder can be given than a table prepared by 
George Richardson, Esq., Superintendent of the 
Lowell Machine Shop, Lowell, Mass. He has 
founded these tables on the actual average produc- 
tion of the Lowell speeder, and he has kindly 
allowed the author to introduce them here for gen- 
eral information. 



10* 



114 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANION. 



Lowell Speeder. — 187B. 

8i in. space. — 12 in. traverse. 

Tables showing production, &c., under 10-hour system and ordinary circumstances. 









Rev. of 1^^ 








No. of 


Grains per 


Twist per 


in. front 


Rev. of 


Hanks per 


Pounds per 


Roving. 


yard. 


inch. 


roll per 


flyer per 


day per 


day per 








minute. 


minute. 


spindle. 


spindle. 


.25 


33.33 


.640 


248.68 


625 


12.595 


50.. 378 


.26 


32.05 


.653 


243.84 


625 


12.452 


47.892 


.27 


30.86 


.665 


239.29 


625 


12.334 


45.680 


.28 


29.76 


.677 


235.05 


625 


12.220 


43.641 


/Z9 


28.73 


.689 


230.89 


625 


12.109 


41.756 


.30 


27.77 


.701 


227.00 


625 


12.003 


40.009 


.31 


26.88 


.713 


223.25 


625 


11.900 


38.387 


.32 


26.04 


.725 


219.68 


625 


11.013 


36.037 


.33 


25.25 


.735 


216.63 


625 


11.736 


35.564 


.34 


24.51 


.746 


213.18 


625 


11.658 


34.288 


.35 


23.81 


.758 


208.64 


625 


11.567 


33.047 


.36 


23.15 


.768 


207.23 


625 


11.508 


31.966 


.37 


22.52 


.778 


204.52 


925 


11.451 


30.948 


.38 


21.93 


.789 


201.85 


625 


11.381 


29.949 


.39 


21.36 


.799 


199.27 


625 


11.327 


29.043 


.40 


20.83 


.809 


196.73 


625 


11.274 


28.185 


.41 


20.32 


.819 


194.28 


625 


11.223 


27.373 


.42 


19.84 


.829 


191.89 


625 


11.173 


26.602 


.43 


19.38 


.840 


189.53 


625 


11.111 


25.839 


.44 


18.94 


.849 


187.55 


625 


11.076 


25.173 


.45 


18.52 


.859 


185.30 


625 


11.029 


24.510 


.46 


18.12 


.869 


183.06 


625 


10.9S4 


23.877 


.47 


17.73 


.878 


181.25 


625 


10.952 


23.302 


.48 


17.36 


.887 


179.43 


625 


10.920 


22.750 


.49 


17.00 


.896 


177.63 


625 


10.890 


22.223 


.50 


16.66 


.905 


175.86 


625 


10.860 


21.719 


.51 


16.34 


.914 


174.15 


625 


10.830 


21.235 


.52 


16.02 


.923 


172.45 


625 


10.800 


20.770 


.53 


15.72 


.932 


170.80 


625 


10.772 


20.325 


.54 


15.43 


.941 


169.17 


625 


10.744 


19.897 


.55 


15.15 


.950 


167.57 


625 


10.717 


19.485 


.56 


14.88 


.957 


166.24 


625 


10.712 


19.129 


.57 


14.62 


.966 


164.69 


625 


10.686 


18.747 


.58 


14.37 


.975 


163.17 


625 


10.660 


18.379 


.59 


14.12 


.983 


161.91 


625 


10.645 


18.042 


.60 


13.88 


.992 


160.44 


625 


10.620 


n.690 



Driving pulleys are 13 inches diameter, 2| inches face. 
Speed of piilleys=307 revolutions per minute. 
Cotton on full bobbin =60 to 64 oz. 
Lengths of Speeders, including pulleys, are as follows : 



20 spindles, 16 ft., 2.5 in. long. 



22 ' 


J7 


' 7.5 


24 


19 


' .5 


26 


20 


' 5.5 


28 ' 


21 


' 10.5 


30 


' 23 


'' 3.5 

< ft ^ 



34 spindles, 26 ft., 
36 ^' 27 " 
38 '' 28 
40 '' 30 
42 " 31 



44 



33 



Those of 
1.5 in. long. 
6.0 " 
11.5 " 
4.5 '' 
9.5 " 
2.5 '' 



Width outside =20 inches. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDEKS' COMPAKION. 115 



Lov/ell Speeder.— 187S. 

6^ in. space.— 9i in. traverse. 
Tables showing production, &c., under 10-hour system and ordinary circumstances. 



No. of 
Roving. 


Grains per 
yard. 


Twist per 
inch. 


Rev. of IX 
in. front 
roll per 
minute. 


Rev. of 
flyer per 
minute. 


Hanks per 
day per 
spindle. 


Pounds per 
day per 
spindle. 


.50 


16.66 


.905 


281.38 


900 


13.812 


27.624 


.55 


15.15 


.950 


268.11 


900 


13.270 


24.128 


.60 


13.88 


.990 


2.56.70 


900 


12.843 


21.405 


.65 


12.82 


1.030 


246.82 


900 


12.448 


19.151 


.70 


11.90 


1.070 


237.67 


900 


12.083 


17.261 


.75 


11.11 


1.108 


229.73 


900 


11.765 


15.687 


.80 


10.42 


1.144 


222.54 


900 


11.488 


14.361 


.85 


9.80 


1.180 


215.77 


900 


11.229 


13.210 


.90 


9.26 


1.215 


209.64 


900 


10.994 


12.215 


.95 


8.77 


1.248 


204.09 


900 


10.788 


11.356 


1.00 


8.33 


1.280 


198.94 


900 


10.603 


10.603 


1.05 


7.93 


1.310 


194.09 


900 


10.442 


9.944 


1.10 


7.58 


1.340 


189.65 


900 


10.288 


9.353 


1.15 


7.25 


1.370 


185.58 


900 


10.141 


8.818 


1.20 


6.94 


1.402 


181.68 


900 


9.986 


8.321 


1.25 


6M 


1.430 


177.95 


900 


9.865 


7.892 


1.30 


6.41 


1.459 


174.48 


900 


9.742 


7.494 


1.35 


6.17 


1.487 


171.20 


900 


9.631 


7.134 


1.40 


5.95 


1.514 


168.17 


900 


9.530 


6.807 


1.45 


5.75 


1.540 


165.24 


900 


9.439 


6.509 


1.50 


5.55 


1.568 


162.40 


900 


9.339 


6.226 


1.55 


5.38 


1.590 


159.80 


900 


9.277 


5.985 


1.60 


5.21 


1.619 


157.27 


900 


9.177 


5.735 


1.65 


5.05 


1.645 


154.82 


900 


9.097 


5.513 


1.70 


4.90 


1.669 


152.57 


900 


9.030 


5.312 


1.75 


4.76 


1.693 


150.40 


900 


8.965 


5.123 



Driving pulleys are 13 inches diameter, 2| inches face. 
Speed of pulleys =442 revolutions per minute. 
Cotton on full bobbin =25 to 30 oz. 



36 spindles 


21ft., 8.5 in 


. long. 


38 - 


22 '* 9.5 




40 


23 '' 10.5 




42 


24 '' 11.5 




44 


26 '' .5 




46 


27 '' 1.5 




48 


28 " 2.5 





;ys, are as 


follows : 


Thos 


e of 


50 spindle 


s, 29 ft., 


3.5 in 


. long. 


52 


30 " 


4.5 




54 


31 '' 


5.5 




56 


32 " 


6.5 




58 


33 '' 


7.5 




60 


34 '' 


8.5 





Width outside=20 inches. 



116 WILSON'S COTTOlSr CARDERS' COMPANION. 



Lowell Speeder.— 187S. 

5 in. space. — 8i in. traverse. 

Tables showing production, &c., under 10-hour system and ordinary circumstances. 



No. of 


Grains per 


Twist per 


Rev. of 1^^ 
in. front 


Rev. of 
flyer per 

Tnimifp 


Hanks per 


Pounds per 


Roving. 


yard. 


inch. 


roll per 


day per 


day per 








minute. 


XXJ.i.J-1 L4LV^* 


spindle. 


spindle. 


1.20 


6.940 


1.402 


242.18 


1200 


12.737 


10.614 


1.30 


6.410 


1.459 


232.71 


1200 


12.321 


9.478 


1.40 


5.950 


3.514 


224.26 


1200 


11.952 


8.537 


1.50 


5.550 


1.568 


216.54 


1200 


11.616 


7.744 


1.60 


5.210 


1.619 


209.72 


1200 


11.324 


7.077 


1.70 


4.900 


1.669 


203.43 


1200 


11.056 


6.503 


1.80 


4.630 


1.718 


. 197.63 


1200 


10.810 


6.005 


1.90 


4.380 


1.764 


192.47 


1200 


10.596 


5.579 


2.00 


4.166 


1.805 


188.11 


1200 


10.421 


5.210 


2.10 


3.970 


1.855 


183.04 


1200 


10.204 


4.859 


2.20 


3.780 


1.898 


178.89 


1200 


10.036 


4.562 


2.30 


3.620 


1.940 


175.02 


1200 


9.880 


4.295 


2.40 


3.470 


1.983 


171.22 


1200 


9.725 


4.052 


2.50 


3.330 


2.022 


167.92 


1200 


9.597 


3.839 


2.60 


3.205 


2.063 


164.58 


1200 


9.464 


3.640 


2.70 


3.090 


2.103 


161.45 


1200 


9.340 


3.459 


2.80 


2.980 


2.141 


158.58 


1200 


9.230 


3.296 


2.90 


2.870 


2.180 


155.75 


1200 


9.120 


3.145 


3.00 


2.777 


2.214 


153.36 


1200 


9.033 


3.011 


3.10 


2.680 


2.253 


150.70 


1200 


8.930 


2.881 


3.20 


2.600 


2.290 


148.27 


1200 


8.838 


2.762 


3.30 


2.530 


2.324 


146.10 


1200 


8.759 


2.654 


3.40 


2.450 


2.360 


143.87 


1200 


8.676 


2.552 


3.50 


2.380 


2.395 


141.77 


1200 


8.599 


2.4.57 


3.60 


2.310 


2.428 


139.84 


1200 


8.531 


2.370 


3.70 


2.250 


2.460 


138.02 


1200 


8.469 


2.289 


3.80 


2.193 


2.495 


136.09 


1200 


8.398 


2.210 


3.90 


2.140 


2.528 


134.31 


1200 


8.335 


2.137 


4.00 


2.083 


2.560 


132.63 


1200 


8.278 


2.069 


4.10 


2.0.30 


2.592 


130.99 


1200 


8.221 


2.005 


4.20 


1.980 


2.623 


129.44 


1200 


8.169 


1.945 


4.30 


1.938 


2.655 


127.88 


1200 


8.116 


1.887 


4.40 


1.890 


2.685 


126.46 


1200 


8.069 


1.834 


4.50 


1.850 


2.714 


126.26 


1200 


8.027 


1.784 


4.60 


1.810 


2.746 


123.65 


1200 


7.977 


1.734 


4.70 


1.770 


2.775 


122.35 


1200 


7.936 


1.689 


4.80 


1.740 


2.803 


121.13 


1200 


7.900 


1.646 


4.90 


1.700 


2.834 


119.80 


1200 


7.855 


1.603 


5.00 


1.666 


2.862 


118.64 


1200 


7.820 


1.564 



Driving pulleys are 13 inches diameter, 2| inches face. 

vSpeed of pulleys =453 revolutions per minute. 

Cotton on full bobbin =12 to 14 oz. 

Lengths of Speeders, including pulleys, are as follows : Those of 



44 spindles, 20 ft., 


6 in 


48 '' 22 '' 


2 


52 ^' 23 '' 


10 


56 '' 25 '' 


6 


60 '' 27 '* 


2 



long 



64 spindles, 28 ft., 10 in. long. 
68 *' 30 '' 6 '' 
72 " 32 '' 2 '' 
76 '' 33 '' 10 
80 '' 35 '' 6 " 



Width outside =20 inches. 



WILSON'S COTTON CAEDEKS' COMPANION. 117 

It will be noticed by close observers that Mr. 
Richardson makes calculations to put more twist in 
roving than does the author of this work ; Mr. 
Richardson uses 1.28 as a multiplier for the square 
root of the hank. 

Great care should be exercised in adjusting the 
shoe or builder of the Lowell speeder, or any other 
roving frame where the double taper is used. If 
the bobbin in filling runs a little more on one 
taper than the other, on the first taper, the place 
it runs over the roving will be strained, and the 
other end will soon grow so slack that the end will 
break down every time it comes to that place. 
Mr. Jabez Edwards (who has invented so many 
useful things) has invented an adjustable shoe^ or 
rather adjustable plates, which are attached to the 
shoe in such a manner that any irregularities of 
this kind can be set right at once, without filing 
or even removing the builder. 

The distance of rollers in a roving or in any 
frame where drawing is done, should be just a trifle 
more than the longest fibres of cotton ; and re- 
member that the bites of rollers are a little closer 
than the measure from center to center, as the top 
rollers pressed down cover some space. 

It is well to weigh fine roving every day or 
enough to get the average — say ten bobbins from 
different parts of the room ; keep a record, and on 
Saturday add and average. It is well to have 
sufficient of the hank table copied to cover the 
variations in the same room. Stick it up near the 
weigher's bench, so that when the average is taken 
(always weighing twelve yards at a time) refer- 
ence to the table will show the hank at a glance. 
Where roving frames have hank clocks, take the 
number of hanks indicated by the clock, multiply 
by the number of ^spindles and divide by the aver- 



118 WILSON'S cotto:n' CAKDERS' compakiox. 

age hank during the week, and it gives the pro* 
duction in pounds. If roving frames have other 
than hank clocks, it is necessary to ascertain by 
trial what a set will weigh ; then multiply sets by 
the pounds one set weighs ; and don't set it down 
as fixed forever, that a set will always weigh ex- 
actly the same, even though the conditions are 
apparently the same ; try them once in a while, 
say in the spring and again in the fall ; they may 
vary some. It is well to be regular in weighing, 
and have the same man do it all the time, if pos- 
sible. It don't make so much difference where it 
is done as it does how it is done; that is, it may 
be done in the railway drawing, fine drawing, 
coarse, intermediate or fine roving, or all these ; 
but let it be done regularly. Good, nice, sensitive 
scales are essential to correct weighing and ascer- 
taining hank accurately. Where no better means 
of testing roving scales can be employed the fol- 
lowing may be resorted to : Weigh a good United 
States nickel five-cent piece ; it weighs 77 grains. 



CHAPTER VL 



Miscellany. 

HANK table: explanation — RULE TO FIND HANK — TWIST 
TABLE : EXPLANATION — RULE TO FIND TWIST — HYGRO- 
METER table: explanation and use — table of quan- 
tity OF BELTING IN ROLLS IN CERTAIN CASES: EXPLANA- 
TION — PERPETUAL CALENDER : EXPLANATION — ADDRESS 
TO A COTTON CARDER — RULE TO CALCULATE DRAUGHT — 
RULE TO CALCULATE SPEED — RECEIPTS FOR MAKING GLUE, 
CEMENT AND ROLLER VARNISH — WEIGHTS OF VARIOUS 
ARTICLES — TIME. 



HANK TABLE. 

Number of yards, 12 in all cases. 



Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


220 


.45 


129 


.77 


91.00 


1.09 


71.00 


1.41 


57.75 


1.73 


214 


.46 


127 


.78 


90.00 


1.10 


70.00 


1.42 


57,50 


1.74 


209 


.47 


126 


.79 


89.00 


1.11 


69.50 


1.43 


57.25 


1.75 


205 


.48 


125 


.80 


88.50 


1.12 


69.00 


1.44 


57.00 


1.76 


202 


.49 


124 


.81 


88.00 


1.13 


68.50 


1.45 


56.50 


1.77 


200 


.50 


123 


.82 


87.50 


1.14 


68.00 


1.46 


56.00 


1.78 


196 


.51 


122 


.83 


87.00 


1.15 


67.50 


1.47 


55.50 


1.79 


193 


.52 


121 


.84 


86.00 


1.16 


67.00 


1.48 


55.25 


1.80 


189 


.53 


120 


.85 


85.00 


1.17 


66.50 


1.49 


55.00 


1.81 


185 


.54 


119 


.86 


84.50 


1.18 


66.25 


1.50 


54.75 


1.82 


182 


.55 


118 


.87 


84.00 


1.19 


66.00 


1.51 


54.50 


1.83 


179 


.56 


117 


.88 


83.50 


1.2J 


65.50 


1.52 


54.25 


1.84 


176 


.57 


116 


.89 


83.00 


1.21 


65.25 


1.53 


54.00 


1.85 


173 


.58 


115 


.90 


82.00 


1.22 


65.00 


1.54 


53.75 


1.86 


170 


.59 


113 


.91 


81.00 


1.23 


64.50 


1.55 


53.50 


1.87 


167 


.60 


111 


.92 


80.50 


1.24 


64.00 


1.56 


53.25 


1.88 


164 


.61 


109 


.93 


80.00 


1.25 


63.50 


1.57 


53.00 


1.89 


161 


.62 


107 


.94 


79.00 


1.26 


63.00 


1.58 


52.50 


1.90 


158 


.63 


105 


.95 


78.50 


1.27 


62.50 


1.59 


52.25 


1.91 


155 


.64 


104 


.96 


78.00 


1.28 


62.00 


1.60 


52.00 


1.92 


153 


.65 


103 


.97 


77.00 


1.29 


61.50 


1.61 


51.75 


1.93 


151 


,m 


102 


.98 


76.50 


1.30 


61.25 


1.62 


51.50 


1.94 


149 


.67 


101 


.99 


76.00 


1.31 


61.00 


1.63 


51.25 


1.95 


147 


.68 


100 


1.00 


75.50 


1.32 


60.75 


1.64 


51.00 


1.96 


145 


.69 


99 


1.01 


75.00 


1.33 


60.50 


1.65 


50.75 


1.97 


143 


•Z5 


98 


1.02 


74.50 


1.34 


60.25 


1.66 


50.50 


1.98 


141 


.7f 


97 


1.03 


74.00 


1.35 


60.00 


1.67 


50.25 


1.99 


139 


.72 


96 


1.04 


73.50 


1.36 


59.50 


1.68 


50.00 


2,00 


137 


.73 


95 


1.05 


73.00 


1.37 


59.00 


1.69 


49.75 


2.01 


135 


.74 


94 


1.06 


72.50 


1.38 


58.50 


1.70 


49.50 


2.02 


133 


.75 


93 


1.07 


72.00 


1.39 


58.25 


1.71 


49.25 


2.03 


131 


.76 


92 


1.08 


71.50 


1.40 


58.00 


1.72 


49.00 


2.04 



120 WILSON'S COTTON CARDEES' COMPANIOlSr. 



HANK TABLE— Continued. 



Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


48.75 


2.05 


38.60 


2.59 


31.90 


3.13 


27.30 


3.67 


23.75 


4.21 


48.50 


2.06 


38.50 


2.60 


•31.80 


3.14 


27.20 


3.68 


23.70 


4.22 


48.25 


2.07 


38.40 


2.61 


31.70 


3.15 


27.10 


3.69 


23.65 


4.23 


48.00 


2.08 


38.20 


2.62 


31.60 


.3.16 


27.00 


3.70 


23.60 


4.24 


47.75 


2.09 


38.00 


2.63 


31.50 


3.17 


26.90 


3.71 


23.50 


4.25 


47.50 


2.10 


37.85 


2.64 


31.40 


3.18 


26.80 


3.72 


23.45 


4.26 


47.25 


2.11 


37.70 


2.65 


31.30 


3.19 


26.75 


3.73 


23.40 


4.27 


47.00 


2.12 


37.55 


2.66 


31.20 


3.20 


26.70 


3.74 


23.35 


4.28 


46.75 


2.13 


37.40 


2.67 


31.10 


3.21 


26.60 


3.75 


23.30 


4.29 


4(150 


2.14 


37.25 


2.68 


31.00 


3.22 


26.55 


3.76 


23.25 


4.30 


46.25 


2.15 


37.12 


2.69 


30.90 


3.23 


26.50 


3.77 


23.20 


4.31 


46.00 


2.16 


37.00 


2.70 


30.80 


3.24 


26.45 


3.78 


23.10 


4.32 


45.80 


2.17 


36.85 


2.71 


30.70 


3.25 


26.40 


3.79 


23.05 


4.33 


45,60 


2.18 


36.70 


2.72 


30.60 


3.26 


26.30 


3.80 


23.00 


4.34 


45.40 


2.19 


36.55 


2.73 


30.50 


3.27 


26.25 


3.81 


22.95 


4.35 


45.20 


2.20 


36.40 


2.74 


30.40 


3.28 


26.20 


3.82 


22.90 


4.36 


45.00 


2.21 


36.25 


2.75 


30.30 


3.29 


26.15 


3.83 


22.85 


4.37 


44.80 


2.22 


36.12 


2.76 


30.20 


3.30 


26.10 


3.84 


22.80 


4.38 


44.60 


2.23 


36.00 


2.77 


30.10 


3.31 


26.00 


3.85 


22.75 


4.39 


44,40 


2.24 


35.90 


2.78 


30.00 


3.32 


25.90 


3.86 


22.70 


4.40 


44.20 


2.25 


35.80 


2.79 


29.90 


3.33 


25.80 


3.87 


22.65 


4.41 


44.00 


2.26 


35.60 


2.80 


29.80 


3.34 


25.75 


3.88 


22.60 


4.42 


43.80 


2.27 


35.50 


2.81 


29.70 


3.35 


25.70 


3.89 


22.55 


4.43 


43.60 


2.28 


35.40 


2.82 


29.60 


3.36 


25.65 


3.90 


22.50 


4.44 


43.40 


2.29 


35.30 


2.83 


29.55 


3.37 


25.60 


3.91 


22.45 


4.45 


43.30 


2.30 


35.20 


2.84 


29.50 


3.38 


25.50 


3.92 


22.40 


4.46 


43.20 


2.31 


35.00 


2.85 


29.45 


3.39 


25.40 


3.93 


22.35 


4.47 


43.10 


2.32 


34.90 


2.86 


29.40 


3.40 


25.30 


3.94 


22..30 


4.48 


43.00 


2.33 


34.80 


2.87 


29.30 


3.41 


25.25 


3.95 


22.25 


4.49 


42.80 


2.34 


34.60 


2.88 


29.20 


3.42 


25.20 


3.96 


22.20 


4.50 


42.60 


2.35 


34.50 


2.89 


29.10 


3.43 


25.15 


3.97 


22.15 


4.51 


42.40 


2.36 


34.30 


2.90 


29.00 


3.44 


25.10 


3.98 


22.10 


4.52 


42.20 


2.37 


34.20 


2.91 


28.95 


3.45 


25.05 


3.99 


22.05 


4.53 


42.00 


2.38 


34.10 


2.92 


28.90 


3.46 


25.00 


4.00 


22.00 


4.54 


41.80 


2.39 


33.90 


2.93 


28.80 


3.47 


24.90 


4.01 


21.95 


4.55 


41.60 


2.40 


33.80 


2.94 


28.70 


3.48 


24.85 


4.02 


21.90 


4.56 


41.40 


2.41 


33.70 


2.95 


28.60 


3.49 


24.80 


4.03 


21.85 


4.57 


41.20 


2.42 


33.60 


2.96 


28.50 


3.50 


24.75 


4.04 


21.80 


4.58 


41.00 


2.43 


33.50 


2.97 


28.40 


3.51 


24.70 


4.05 


21.75 


4.59 


40.85 


2.44 


33.40 


2.98 


28.30 


3.52 


24.65 


4.06 


21.70 


4.60 


40.70 


2.45 


33.30 


2.99 


28.25 


3.53 


24.60 


4.07 


21.65 


4.61 


40.55 


2.46 


33.20 


3.00 


28.20 


3.54 


24.50 


4.08 


21.60 


4.62 


40.40 


2.47 


33.10 


3.01 


28.10 


3.55 


24.40 


4.09 


21.55 


4.63 


40.25 


2.48 


33.00 


3.02 


28.05 


3..56 


24.35 


4.10 


21.50 


4.65 


40.12 


2.49 


32.95 


3.03 


28.00 


3.57 


24.30 


4.11 


21.45 


4.66 


40.00 


2.50 


32.90 


3.04 


27.90 


3..58 


24.25 


4.12 


21.40 


4.67 


39.85 


2.51 


eS2.80 


3.05 


27.80 


3.59 


24.20 


4.13 


21.35 


4.68 


39.70 


2.52 


32.75 


3.06 


27.75 


3.60 


24.15 


4.14 


21.30 


4.69 


39.55 


2.53 


32.70 


3.07 


27.70 


3.61 


24.10 


4 15 


21.25 


4.70 


39.40 


2.54 


32.60 


3.08 


27.60 


3.62 


24.00 


4.16 


21.20 


4.71 


39.25 


2.55 


32.55 


3.09 


27.50 


3.63 


23.95 


4.17 


21.15 


4.72 


39.12 


2.56 


32.40 


3.10 


27.45 


3.64 


23.90 


4.18 


21.10 


4.73 


39.00 


2.57 


32.20 


3.11 


27.40 


3.65 


23.85 


4.19 


21.05 


4.75 


38.30 


2.58 32.00 


3.12 27.35 


3.66 


23.80 


4.20 


21.00 


4.76 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 



HANK TABLE— Continued. 


Grains. 


Hank. Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


Grains. 


Hank. 


20.95 


4.77 18.87 


5.30 


17.24 


5.79 


15.92 


6.28 


14.75 


6.78 


20.90 


4.78 


18.85 


5.31 


17.22 


5.80 


15.90 


6.29 


14.73 


6.79 


20.8.5 


4.79 


18.81 


5.32 


17.20 


5.81 


15.87 


6.30 


14.70 


6.80 


20.80 


4.80 


18.77 


5.33 


17.17 


5.82 


15.84 


6.31 


14.67 


6.82 


20.75 


4.82 


18.73 


5.34 


17.14 


5.83 


15.82 


6.32 


14.64 


6.84 


20.70 


4.83 


18.69 


5.35 


17.12 


5.84 


15.80 


6.33 


14.60 


6.86 


20.65 


4.84 


18.65 


5.36 


17.09 


5.85 


15.77 


6.34 


14.56 


6.88 


20.60 


4.85 


18.61 


5.37 


17.06 


5.86 


15.74 


6.35 


14.50 


6.90 


20.55 


4.86 


18.58 


5.38 


17.03 


5.87 


15.71 


6. .36 


14.45 


6.92 


20.50 


4.87 


18.53 


5.39 


17.00 


5.88 


15.69 


6.37 


14.40 


6.94 


20.45 


4.8S 


18.49 


5.40 


16.97 


5.89 


15.66 


6..38 


14.36 


6.96 


20.40 


4.89 


18.45 


5.41 


16.95 


5.90 


15.64 


6.39 


14.32 


6.98 


20.35 


4.91 


18.42 


5.42 


16.92 


5.91 


15.62 


6.40 


14.28 


7.00 


20.30 


4.92 


18.39 


5.43 


16.90 


5.92 


15.60 


6.41 


14.24 


7.02 


20.25 


4.94 


18.36^ 


5.44 


16.87 


5.93 


15.57 


6.42 


14.20 


7.04 


20.20 


4.95 


18.33 


5.45 


16.85 


5.94 


15.54 


6.43 


14.16 


7.06 


20.15 


4.97 


18.29 


5.46 


16.82 


5.95 


15.52 


6.44 


14.12 


7.08 


20.10 


4.98 


18.26 


5.47 


16.80 


5.96 


15..50 


6.45 


14.08 


7.10 


20.05 


4.99 


18.23 


5.48 


16.77 


5.97 


15.47 


6.46 


14.04 


7.12 


20.00 


5.00 


18.20 


5.49 


16.74 


5.98 


15.44 


6.47 


14.00 


7.14 


19.95 


5.01 


18.17 


5.50 


16.71 


5.99 


15.42 


6.48 


12..50 


8.00 


19.90 


5.02 


18.14 


5.51 


16.68 


6.00 


15.40 


6.49 


11.00 


9.00 


19.85 


5.03 


18.11 


5.52 


16.65 


6.01 


15.37 


6. .50 


10.00 


10.00 


19.83 


5.04 


1808 


5.. 53 


16.62 


6.02 


15.35 


6.51 


9.00 


11.00 


19.80 


5.05 


18.04 


5.54 


16.59 


6.03 


15.32 


6.52 


8.33 


12.00 


19.76 


5.06 


18.00 


5.55 


16.56 


6.04 


15.30 


6.53 


7.69 


13.00 


19.71 


5.07 


17.96 


5.56 


16.53 


6.05 


15.27 


6.54 


7.12 


14.00 


19.67 


5.08 


17.92 


5.57 


16.50 


6.06 


15.25 


6.55 


6M 


1.5.00 


19.63 


5.09 


17.89 


5.58 


16.18 


6.07 


15.23 


6..56 


6.25 


16.00 


19.60 


5.10 


17.85 


5..59 


16.45 


6.08 


15.20 


6.57 


5.90 


17.00 


19.57 


5.11 


17.82 


5.60 


16.42 


6.09 


15.18 


6.58 


5.55 


18.00 


19.52 


5.12 


17.78 


5.61 


16.39 


6.10 


15.16 


6.59 


5.26 


19.00 


19.48 


5.13 


17.75 


5.62 


16.36 


6.11 


15.14 


6.60 


5.00 


20.00 


19.44 


5.14 


17.72 


5.63 


16.33 


6.12 


15.11 


6.61 


4.76 


21.00 


19.40 


5.15 


17.69 


5.64 


16.30 


6.13 


15.09 


6.62 


4.55 


22.00 


19.36 


5.16 


17.66 


5.65 


16.27 


6.14 


15.07 


6.63 


4.34 


23.00 


19.32 


5.17 


17.63 


5.66 


16.25 


6.15 


15.05 


6.64 


.4.16 


24.00 


19.28 


5.18 


17.60 


5.67 


16.22 


6.16 


15.03 


6.65 


4.00 


25.00 


19.24 


5.19 


17.57 


6.68 


16.20 


6.17 


15.C0 


Q.m 


3.85 


26.00 


19.20 


5.20 


17.53 


5.69 


16.17 


6.18 


14.97 


6.67 


3.70 


27.00 


19.17 


5.21 


17.50 


5.70 


16.14 


6.19 


14.94 


6.68 


3.57 


28.00 


19.13 


5.22 


17.47 


5.71 


16.12 


6.20 


14.92 


6.69 


3.45 


29.00 


19.09 


5.23 


17.44 


5.72 


16.09 


6.21 


14.90 


6.70 


3.33 


30.00 


19.05 


5.24 


17.41 


5.73 


16.06 


6.22 


14.88 


6.71 


3.22 


31.00 


19.02 


5.25 


17.38 


5.74 


16.04 


6.23 


14.86 


6.72 


3.12 


32.00 


19.00 


5.26 


17.35 


5.75 


16.02 


6.24 


14.85 


6.73 


3.03 


33.00 


18.97 


5.27 


17.32 


5.76 


16.00 


6.25 


14.82 


6.74 






18.94 


5.28 


17.29 


5.77 


15.97 


6.26 


14.80 


6.75 






18.91 


5.29 


17.26 


5.78 


, 15.94 


6.27 


14.77 


6.76 







11 



122 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANIOX. 

EXPLANATION OF HANK TABLE. 

We have already seen that a hank is 840 yards 
of roving. To ascertain what hank any particular 
kind of roving is — that is, how many hanks there 
are to the pound — -it is necessary to weigh a cer- 
tain number of yards. Grains are generall}^ used 
in weighing roving, but the pounds (that is, how 
many hanks to the pound) are avoirdupois ; so in 
making this €alculation we must reduce troy-weight 
to avoirdupois. We find that in one pound avoir- 
dupois there are 7,000 grains ; so if we should reel 
off 840 yards, and it should weigl^ 7,000 grains, 
that would be one-hank roving ; 3,500 would be 
two-hank; 1,750 four-hank, and so on; but this 
would be a tedious job, and so we take a certain 
part of 840 yards and a corresponding part of 
7.000 grains and use the parts instead of the whole. 
12 yards are tV of 840 ; 100 is tV of 7,000 ; so we 
weigh 12 yards and divide 100 by the number of 
grains' weight, and that gives us the hank. 

EXAMPLES. 

12 yards w^eigh 25 grains : 

25)100(4. The hank is 4. 
100 

Again : 12 j^ards w^eigh 25.50 : 

25.50)100.00(3.92. The hank is 3.92. 
7650 

23500 
22950 

5500 
5100 

400 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDEES' COMPANION. 123 

Once more : 12 yards weigh 24.50 : 

24.60)100.00 (4.08. The hank is 4.08. 

9800 

20000 . 
19600 

400 

It is most convenient to put fractions in form of 
decimals as in the above examples. If 12 yards, 
or the average of several weighings, weigh a cer- 
tain number of grains and a fraction, as is most 
always the case, then add cyphers to the dividend 
to balance the divisor. 

From the foregoing examples and explanations 
we derive the following rule to find the hank : — 
First weigh 12 yards of any kind of roving; second, 
take the number of grains 12 yards weigh as the 
divisor for 100 5 the quotient will be the hank 
sought. 

There are a number of rules to find hank; the 
writer has some half-dozen, more or less; but the 
above is his best, so he gives no other. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



TWIST TABLE. 


H>mk. , 


5 q. Root.; 


Twist. 


Hank. Sq.Root. 


^Twist. 1 


Hank. Sq.Koot. 


Twist. 


.50 


.7('71 1 


.88 


1.03 


1.014 


1.26 


1.56 


1.248 


1.55 


.51 


.7141 


.89 


1.04* 


1.019 


1.26 


157 


1.252 


1.55 


.52 


.7211 


.89 


1.05 


1.024 


1.27 


1..58 


1.256 


1.56 


.53 


.7280 


.90 


1.06 


1.029 


1.28 


1.59 


1.260 


1.56 


.54 


.7348 


.91 


1.07 


1.034 


1.28 


1.60 


1.264 


1.57 


.55 


.7416 


.92 


1.08 


1.039 


1.29 


1.61 


1.268 


1.57 


.56 


.7483 


.93 


1.09 


1.044 


1.29 


1.62 


1.272 


1.57 


.57 


.7549 


.94 


1.10 


1.048 


1.30 


1.63 


1.276 


1.58 


.58 


.7615 


.95 


1.11 


1.0.53 


1.31 


1.64 


1.280 


1..58 


.59 


.7681 


.95 


1.12 


1.058 


1.31 


1.65 


1.284 


1.59 


.60 


.7745 


.96 


1.13 


1.063 


1..32 


1.66 


1.288 


1.59 


.61 


.7810 


.97 


1.14 


1.067 


1 32 


1.67 


1.292 


1.60 


.62 


.7874 


.98 


1.15 


1.072 


1.33 


1.68 


1.296 


1.60 


.63 


.7937 


.98 


1.16 


1.077 


1.34 


1.69 


1.300 


1.61 


.64 


.8000 


.99 


1.17 


1.081 


1..34 


1.70 


1.303 


1.61 


.65 


.8062 


1.00 


1.18 


1.086 


1.35 


1.71 


1.307 


1.62 


M 


.8124 


1.00 


1.19 


1.090 


1.35 


1.72 


1.311 


1.62 


.67 


.8185 


1.01 


1.20 


1.095 


1.36 


1.73 


1.315 


1.63 


.68 


.8246 


1.02 


1.21 


1.100 


1.36 


1.74 


1.319 


1.63 


.69 


.8306 


1.03 


1.22 


1.104 


1.37 


1.75 


1.322 


1.64 


.70 


.8366 


1.C4 


1.23 


1.109 


1.38 


176 


1.326 


1.64 


.71 


.8426 


1.04 


1.24 


1.113 


1.38 


1.77 


1.330 


1.65 


.72 


.8485 


1.05 


1.25 


1.118 


1.39 


1.78 


1.334 


1.65 


.73 


.8544 


1.06 


1.26 


1.122 


1.39 


1.79 


1..3.37 


1.65 


.74 


.8602 


1.07 


1.27 


1.126 


1.40 


1.80 


1.341 


1.66 


.75 


.8660 


1.07 


1.28 


1.131 


1.40 


1.81 


1.345 


1.66 


.76 


.8717 


1.08 


l.-i9 


1.135 


1.41 


1.82 


1.349 


1.67 


.77 


.8774 


1.09 


1.30 


1.140 


1.41 


1.83 


1..352 


1.67 


.78 


.8831 


1.10 


1.31 


1.144 


1.42 


1.84 


1.356 


1.68 


.79 


.8888 


1.10 


1.32 


1.148 


1.42 


1.85 


1.360 


1.68 


.80 


.8944 


1.11 


1.33 


1.1.53 


1.43 


1.86 


1..363 


1.69 


.81 


.9000 


1.12 


1.34 


1.157 


1.43 


1.87 


1.367 


1.69 


.82 


.9055 


1.12 


1.35 


1.161 


1.44 


1.88 


1.371 


1.70 


.83 


.9110 


1.13 


1.36 


1.166 


1.44 


1.89 


1.374 


1.70 


.84 


.9165 


1.14 


1.37 


1.170 


1.45 


1.90 


1.378 


1.71 


.85 


.9219 


1.14 


1.38 


1.174 


1.45 


1.91 


1.382 


1.71 


.86 


.9273 


1,15 


1.39 


1.178 


1.46 


1.92 


1.385 


1.71 


.87 


.9327 


1.16 


1.40 


1.183 


1.46 


1.93 


1.389 


1.72 


.8S 


.V.380 


1.16 


1.41 


1.1S7 


1.47 


1.94 


1..392 


1.72 


.89 


.94.33 


1.17 


1.42 


1.191 


1.47 


1.95 


1.396 


1.73 


• .90 


.9486 


1.18 


1.43 


1.195 


1.48 


1.96 


1.400 


1.73 


.91 


.9539 


1.18 


1.44 


1.200 


1.48 


1.97 


1.403 


1.74 


.92 


.9591 


1.19 


1.45 


1.204 


1.49 


1.98 


1.407 


1.74 


.93 


.9643 


1.20 


1.46 


1.208 


1.49 


1.99 


1.410 


1.75 


.94 


.9695 


1.20 


1.47 


1.212 


1.50 


2.00 


1.414 


1.75 


.95 


.9746 


1.21 


1.48 


1.216 


1.50 


2.01 


1 417 


1.76 


.96 


.9797 


1.21 


1.49 


1.220 


1.51 


2.02 


1.421 


1.76 


.97 


.9848 


1.22 


1.50 


1.224 


1.51 


2.03 


1.424 


1.76 


.98 


.9899 


1.22 


1.51 


1.228 


1..52 


2.04 


1.428 


1.77 


.99 


.9949 


1.23 


1.52 


1.232 


1..53 


2.05 


1.431 


1.77 


1.00 


1.000 


1.24 


1.53 


1.236 


1.54 


2.06 


1.435 


1.78 


1.01 


1.004 


1.24 


1.54 


1.240 


1.54 


2.07 


1.438 


1.78 


1.02 


1.009 


1.25 


1.55 


1.244 


1.54 


2.08 


1.442 


1.79 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 125 



TWIST TABLE— Continued. 



Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


2.09 


1.445 


1.79 


3.06 


1.749 


2.17 


4.69 


2.165 


2.68 


2.10 


1.449 


1.80 


3.09 


1.757 


2.18 


4.72 


2.172 


2.69 


2.11 


1.452 


1.80 


3.12 


1.766 


2.19 


4.75 


2.179 


2.70 


2.12 


1.456 


1.80 


3.15 


1.774 


2.20 


4.78 


2.186 


2.71 


2.13 


1.459 


1.81 


3.18 


1.783 


2.21 


4.81 


2.193 


2.72 


2.14 


1.462 


1.81 


3.21 


1.791 


2.22 


4.84 


2.200 


2.73 


2.15 


1.466 


1.82 


3.24 


1.800 


2.23 


4.87 


2.206 


2.74 


2.16 


1.469 


1.82 


3.27 


1.808 


2.24 


4.90 


2.213 


2.74 


2.17 


1.473 


1.83 


3.30 


1.816 


2.25 


4.94 


2.222 


2.75 


2.18 


1.476 


1.83 


3.33 


1.824 


2.26 


4.97 


2.229 


2.76 


2.19 


1.479 


1.83 


3.36 


1.833 


2.27 


5.00 


2.236 


2.77 


2.20 


1.483 


1.84 


3.39 


1.841 


2.28 


5.04 


2.244 


2.78 


2.22 


1.489 


1.85 


3.42 


1.849 


2.29 


5.08 


2.253 


2.79 


2.24 


1.496 


1.85 


3.45 


1.857 


2.30 


5.12 


2.262 


2.80 


2,26 


1.503 


1.86 


3.48 


1.865 


2.31 


5.16 


2.271 


2.81 


2.28 


1.509 


1.87 


.3.51 


1.873 


2.32 


5.20 


2.280 


2.82 


2.30 


1.516 


1.88 


3.54 


1.881 


2.33 


5 24 


2.286 


2.83 


2.32 


1.523 


1.89 


3.57 


1.889 


2.34 


5.28 


2.297 


2.84 


2.34 


1.529 


1.90 


3.60 


1.897 


2.35 


5.32 


2.306 


2.85 


2.36 


1.536 


1.90 


3.63 


1.90r) 


2.36 


5.36 


2.315 


2.86 


2.38 


1.542 


1.91 


3.66 


1.913 


2.37 


5.40 


2.323 


2.87 


2.40 


1.549 


1.92 


3.69 


1.920 


2.38 


5.44 


2.332 


2.88 


2.42 


1.555 


1.93 


3.72 


1.928 


2.39 


5.48 


2.3^0 


2.89 


2.44 


1.562 


1.94 


3.75 


1.936 


2.40 


5.52 


2.349 


2.90 


2.46 


1.568 


1.95 


3.78 


1.944 


2.41 


5.56 


2.357 


2.91 


2.48 


1.574 


1.95 


3.81 


1.951 


2.42 


5..59 


2.364 


2.93 


2.50 


1.581 


1.96 


3.84 


1.9.59 


2.43 


5.62 


2.370 


2.94 


2.52 


1.587 


1.97 


■ 3.87 


1.967 


2.44 


5.66 


2.379 


2.95 


2.54 


1.593 


1.98 


3 90 


1.974 


2.45 


5.70 


2.387 


2.96 


2.56 


1.600 


1.99 


3.93 


1.982 


2.46 


5.74 


2.395 


2.97 


2.58 


1.606 


1.99 


3.96 


1.989 


2.47 


5.78 


2.404 


2.98 


2.60 


1.612 


2.00 


3.99 


1.997 


2.48 


5.82 


2.412 


2.99 


2.62 


1.618 


2.01 


4.02 


2.004 


2-49 


5-86 


2.420 


3.00 


2.64 


1.624 


2.02 


4-05 


2.012 


2..50 


5.90 


2.428 


3.01 


2.66 


1.630 


2.03 


4.08 


2.019 


2.51 


5-94 


2.437 


3.02 


2.68 


1.637 


2.03 


4-11 


2.027 


2.51 


5.98 


2.445 


3.03 


2.70 


1.643 


2.04 


4.14 


2.034 


2.52 


6.02 


2.453 


3.04 


2.72 


1.649 


2.04 


4.17 


2.042 


2.53 


6.06 


2.461 


3.05 


2.74 


1.655 


2.05 


4.20 


2.049 


2.54 


6.10 


2.469 


3.06 


2.76 


1.661 


2.05 


4.23 


2.056 


2-55 


6.14 


2.477 


3.07 


2.78 


1.667 


2.06 


4.26 


2.063 


2.56 


6.18 


2.485 


3.08 


2.80 


1.673 


2.07 


4.29 


2.071 


2-57 


6.22 


2.493 


3.09 


2.82 


1.679 


2.08 


4-32 


2.078 


2.58 


6.26 


2.501 


3.10 


2.84 


1.685 


2.09 


4.35 


2.085 


2.59 


6-30 


2.509 


3.11 


2.86 


1.691 


2.10 


4.38 


2.092 


2-60 


6.34 


2.517 


3.12 


2.88 


1.697 


2.10 


4.41 


2.100 


2.60 


6.38 


2.525 


3.13 


2.90 


1.702 


2.11 


4.44 


2.107 


2.61 


6.42 


2.533 


3.14 


2.92 


1.708 


2.12 


4.47 


2.114 


2.62 


6.46 


2.541 


3.15 


2.94 


1.714 


2.13 


4.50 


2.121 


2.63 


6.50 


2.549 


3.16 


2.96 


1.720 


2.14 


4.54 


2.130 


2.64 


6.54 


2.557 


3.17 


2.98 


1.726 


2.14 


4.58 


2.140 


2.65 


6.58 


2.565 


3.18 


3.00 


1.732 


2.15 


4.62 


2.149 


2.66 


6.62 


2.572 


3.19 


3.03 


1.740 


2.16 


4.66 


2.158 


2.67 


6.66 


2.580 


3.20 



11* 



126 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEKS' COMPANION. 





TWIST TABLE- 


-Continued. 




Hauk. i 


sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


6.70 


2.588 


3.21 


9.05 


3.008 


3.73 


11.73 


3.424 


4.25 


6.74 


2.596 


3.22 


9.10 


3.016 


3.74 


11.78 


3.482 


4.26 


6.78 


2.608 


3.23 


9.15 


3.024 


3.75 


11.83 


3.439 


4.27 


6.82 


2.611 


3.24 


9.20 


3.033 


3.76 


11.89 


3.448 


4.28 


6.86 


2.619 


3.25 


9.25 


3.041 


3.77 


11.95 


3.456 


4.29 


6.92 


2.630 


3.26 


9.30 


3.049 


3.78 


12.00 


3.464 


4.30 


6.96 


2.638 


3.27 


9.35 


3.057 


3.79 


12.06 


3.472 


4.31 


7.00 


2.645 


3.28 


9.40 


3.065 


3.80 


12.12 


3.481 


4.32 


7.04 


2.653 


3.29 


9.45 


3.074 


3.81 


12.18 


3.489 


4.33 


7.08 


2.660 


3.30 


9.50 


3.082 


3.82 


12.24 


3.498 


4.34 


7.12 


2.668 


3.31 


9.55 


3.090 


3.83 


12.30 


3.507 


4.85 


7.16 


2.675 


3.32 


9.60 


3.098 


3.84 


12.36 


3.515 


4.36 


7.20 


2.683 


3.33 


9.65 


3.106 


3.85 


12.42 


3.524 


4.37 


7.24 


2.690 


3.34 


9.70 


3.114 


3.86 


12.48 


3.532 


4.38 


7.28 


2.695 


3.35 


9.75 


3.122 


3.87 


12.54 


3.. 541 


4.89 


7.82 


2.705 


3.35 


9.80 


3.180 


3.88 


12.60 


3.549 


4.40 


7.86 


2.712 


3.36 


9.85 


3.13S 


3.S9 


12.66 


8 558 


4.41 


7.40 


2.720 


3.37 


9.90 


3.146 


3.90 


12.72 


3.566 


4.42 


7.44 


2.727 


3.38 


9.95 


3.154 


3.91 


12.78 


3. .574 


4.43 


7.48 


2.734 


3.39 


10.00 


3.162 


3.92 


12.84 


3.583 


4.44 


7.52 


2.742 


3.40 


10.05 


3.170 


3.93 


12.90 


8.591 


4.45 


7.56 


2.749 


3.41 


10. 10 


3.178 


3.94 


12.96 


3.600 


4.46 


7.60 


2.756 


3.42 


10.15 


3.185 


3.95 


13.02 


3.608 


4.47 


7.65 


2.765 


3.43 


10.20 


3.193 


3.96 


13.08 


3.616 


4.48 


7.70 


2.774 


3.44 


10.25 


3.201 


3.97 


13.14 


3.624 


4.49 


7.75 


2.783 


3.45- 


10.30 


3.209 


■3.98 


13.20 


3 633 


4.50 


7.80 


2.792 


3.46 


10.35 


8.217 


3.99 


13.26 


3.641 


4.51 


7.85 


2.801 


3.47 


10.40 


3.224 


4.00 


18.32 


3.649 


4.52 


7.90 


2.810 


3.48 


10.45 


3.282 


4.01 


13.38 


3.657 


4.53 


7.95 


2.819 


3.49 


10.50 


8.240 


4.02 


13.45 


3.667 


4.54 


8.00 


2.828 


3.50 


10.55 


3.248 


4.03 


13.50 


3.674 


4.55 


8 04 


2.835 


3.51 


10.60 


3.255 


4.04 


13.55 


3.681 


4.n6 


8.08 


2.842 


3.52 


10.65 


3.263 


4.05 


13.60 


3.6S7 


4.57 


8.12 


2.849 


3.53 


10.70 


3.271 


4.06 


13.65 


8.694 


4.58 


8.16 


2.856 


3.54 


10.75 


3.278 


4.07 


13.71 


3.702 


4.59 


8.20 


2.863 


3 55 


10.80 


3.286 


4.08 


13.76 


3 709 


4.60 


8.25 


2.872 


3.56 


10.85 


3.293 


4.09 


13.82 


3.717 


4.61 


8.30 


2.880 


3.57 


10.90 


3.801 


4.10 


18.88 


3.725 


4.62 


8.35 


2.889 


3.58 


10.95 


3.309 


4.11 


13.94 


3.783 


4.63 


8.40 


2.898 


3.59 


11.00 


3.316 


4.11 


14.00 


3.741 


4.64 


8.45 


2.906 


3.60 


11.06 


3.325 


4.12 


14.06 


3.749 


4.65 


8.50 


2.915 


3.61 


11.12 


3.334 


4.13 


14.12 


3.757 


4.66 


8.54 


2.922 


3.62 


11.18 


3.343 


4.14 


14.18 


3.765 


4.67 


8.58 


2 929 


3.63 


11.23 


3.351 


4.15 


14.24 


8.778 


4.68 


8.62 


2.935 


3.64 


11.28 


3.358 


4.16 


14.30 


3.781 


4.69 


8.66 


2.942 


3.65 


11.33 


3.366 


4.17 


14.36 


3.789 


4.70 


8.70 


2.949 


3.66 


11.38 


3.373 


4.18 


14.42 


3.797 


4.71 


8.75 


2.958 


3.67 


11.43 


3.380 


4.19 


14.48 


3.805 


4.72 


8.80 


2.966 


3.68 


11.48 


3,388 


4.20 


14.54 


3.813 


4.73 


8.85 


2.974 


3.69 


11.53 


3.395 


4.21 


14.60 


3.820 


4.74 


8.90 


2.982 


3.70 


11.58 


3.402 


4.22 


14.66 


3.828 


4.75 


8.95 


2.901 


3.71 


11.63 


3.410 


4.23 


14.72 


3.836 


4.76 


9.00 


3.000 


3.72 


11.68 


3.417 


4.24 


14.78 


3.844 


4.77 



WILSON'S COTTOX CAKDERS' COMPANION 127 



TWIST TABLE— Continued. 



Har)k. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


14.84 


3.852 


4.78 


18.38 


4.287 


5.31 


22.24 


4.715 


5.84 


14.90 


3.860 


4.79 


18.45 


4.295 


5.32 


22.32 


4.724 


5.85 


14.96 


3.867 


4.80 


18.52 


4.303 


5.83 


22.40 


4.732 


5.86 


15.02 


3.875 


4.81 


18.59 


4.311 


5.34 


22.48 


4.741 


5.87 


15.09 


3.884 


4.82 


18.66 


4.319 


5.35 


22.55 


4.748 


5.88 


15.16 


3.893 


4.83 


18.73 


4.327 


5.36 


22.62 


4.756 


5.89 


15.23 


3.902 


4.84 


18.80 


4.335 


5.37 


22.68 


4.762 


5.90 


15.30 


3.911 


4.85 


18.87 


4.. 343 


5.88 


22.75 


4.769 


5.91 


15.87 


3.920 


4.86 


18.94 


4.352 


5.39 


22.82 4.777 1 


5.92 


15.44 


3.929 


4.87 


19.00 


4.358 


5.40 


22.89 


4.784 


5.93 


15.51 


3.938 


4.88 


19.07 


4.. 866 


5.41 


22.96 


4.791 


5.94 


15.58 


3.947 


4.89 


19.14 


4.374 


5.42 


23.04 


4.800 


5.95 


15.65 


3.956 


4.90 


19.21 


4.382 


5.48 


23.10 


4.806 


5.96 


15.72 


3.964 


4.91 


19.28 


4.890 


5.44 


23.18 


4.814 


5.97 


15.78 


3.972 


4.92 


19.35 


4.399 


5.45 


23.26 


4.822 


5.98 


15.84 


3.979 


4.93 


19.42 


4.4U6 


5.46 


28.35 


4.832 


5.99 


15.90 


3.987 


4.94 


19.49 


4.414 


5.47 


23.44 


4.841 


6.00 


15.96 


3.994 


4.95 


19..56 


4.422 


5.48 


23.. 52 


4.847 


6.01 


16.00 


4.000 


4.96 


19.63 


4.480 


5.49 


28.61 


4.859 


6.02 


16.07 


4.008 


4.97 


19.70 


4.488 


5.50 


23.68 


4.866 


6.03 


16.13 


4.016 


4.98 


19.77 


4.446 


5.51 


23.76 


4.874 


6.04 


16.20 


4.024 


4.99 


19.84 


4.454 


5.52 


28.84 


4.882 


6.05 


16.27 


4.033 


5.00 


19.91 


4.462 


5.53 


23.92 


4.890 


6.06 


16.34 


4.042 


5.01 


20.00 


4.472 


5-54 


24.00 


4.898 


0.07 


16.42 


4.052 


5.02 


20.10 


4.483 


5.55 


24.08 


4.907 


6.08 


16.50 


4.062 


5.03 


20.17 


4.491 


5.56 


24.16 


4.915 


6.09 


16.57 


4.070 


5.04 


20.21 


4.495 


5-57 


24.24 


4.928 


6.10 


16.64 


4.079 


5.05 


20.25 


4.5U0 


5.58 


24.32 


4.981 


6.11 


16.70 


4.086 


5.06 


20.32 


4.507 


5.59 


24.40 


4.939 


6.12 


16.75 


4.092 


5.07 


20.40 


4.516 


5-60 


24.48 


4.943 


6.13 


16.81 


4.100 


5.08 


20.48 


4.525 


5-61 


24.57 


4.9.57 


6.14 


16.88 


4.108 


5.09 


20.56 


4.. 534 


5.62 


24.65 


4-965 


6.15 


16.94 


4.115 


5.10 


20.64 


4.543 


5.63 


24.73 


4.975 


6-16 


17.00 


4.123 


5.11 


20-75 


4.555 


5-64 


24.80 


4.979 


6.17 


17.07 


4.131 


5.12 


20.82 


4.562 


5-65 


24.b7 


4.986 


6.18 


17.14 


4.140 


5.13 


20.90 


4.571 


5-66 


24.94 


4.993 


6-19 


17.21 


4.148 


5.14 


20.98 


4.580 


5-67 


25.00 


5-000 


6.20 


17.28 


4.156 


5.15 


21.05 


4.588 


5-68 


2.5.10 


5-009 


6-21 


17.35 


4.165 


5.16 


21.12 


4.595 


5-69 


25.20 


5-019 


6.22 


17.42 


4.173 


5.17 


21.20 


4.604 


5'7J 


25.27 


5-026 


6.23 


17.49 


4.182 


5.18 


21.25 


4.610 


5-71 


25.34 


5-033 


6-24 


17.56 


4.190 


5.19 


21.32 


4.617 


5.72 


25.42 


5-041 


6-25 


17.63 


4.198 


5.20 


21.40 


4.626 


5.73 


25.50 


5-049 


6-26 


17.70 


4.207 


5.21 


21.47 


4.6.83 


5-74 


25.60 


5-059 


6-27 


17.77 


4.215 


5.22 


21.55 


4.642 


5*75 


25.68 


5-067 


6-28 


17.84 


4.223 


5.23 


21.62 


4.649 


5-76 


25.75 


5-074 


6.29 


17.91 


4.232 


5.24 


21.70 


4.658 


5-77 


25.82 


5-081 


6.30 


17.97 


4.239 


5.25 


21.77 


4.665 


5-78 


25.91 


5-090 


6.31 


18.03 


4.246 


5.26 


21.84 


4.673 


5-79 


26.00 


5-099 


6.32 


18.10 


4.2.54 


5.27 


21.90 


4.679 


5-80 


26.10 


5-108 


6.33 


18.17 


4.262 


5.28 


22.00 


4.690 


5-81 


26.18 


5-116 


6.34 


18.24 


4.270 


5.29 


22.08 


4.698 


5.82 


26.25 


5-123 


6.35 


18.31 


4.279 


5.30 


22.16 


4.707 


5.83 


26.33 


5-131 


6.36 



128 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



TWIST TABLE— CoNTmuED. 



Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hauk. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


Hank. 


Sq.Root. 


Twist. 


26.40 


5.138 


6.37 


28.70 


5.357 


6.64 


31.40 


5.603 


6.95 


26.48 


5.145 


6.38 


28.80 


5.366 


6.65 


31.50 


5.612 


6.96 


26.58 


5.155 


6.39 


28.90 


5.375 


6.66 


31.60 


5.621 


6.97 


26.64 


5.161 


6.40 


29.(0 


5.385 


6.67 


31.70 


5.629 


6.98 


26.75 


5.173 


6.41 


29.10 


5.394 


6.69 


31.80 


5.639 


6.99 


26.83 


5,179 


6.42 


29.20 


5.403 


6.70 


31.90 


5.648 


7.00 


26.92 


5.183 


6.43 


29.30 


5.413 


6.71 


32.00 


5.656 


7.01 


27.00 


5.196 


6.44 


29.40 


5.422 


6.72 


32.10 


5.665 


7.02 


27.08 


5.203 


6.45 


29.50 


5.431 


6.73 


32.20 


5.674 


7.03 


27.16 


5.211 


6.46 


29.60 


5.440 


6.74 


32.30 


5.683 


7.04 


27.25 


5.220 


6.47 


29.70 


5.449 


6.75 


32.40 


5.692 


7.05 


27.33 


5.227 


6.48 


29.80 


5.458 


6.76 


32.50 


5.700 


7.06 


27.41 


5.235 


6.49 


29.90 


5.467 


6.78 


32.60 


5.709 


7.07 


27.50 


5.244 


6.50 


30.00 


5.477 


6.79 


32.70 


5.718 


7.09 


27.60 


5.2.53 


6.51 


30.10 


5.486 


6.80 


32.80 


5.727 


7.10 


27.67 


5.260 


6.52 


30.20 


5.495 


6.81 


32.90 


5.736 


7.11 


27.75 


5.267 


6.53 


30.30 


5.. 504 


6.82 


33.00 


5.744 


7.12 


27.84 


5.276 


6.54 


30.40 


5.513 


6.83 


33.10 


5.753 


7.13 


27.92 


5.283 


6.55 


30.50 


5.522 


6.85 


33.20 


5.761 


7.14 


28.00 


5.291 


6b6 


30.60 


5.531 


6.86 


33.30 


5.770 


7.15 


28.10 


5.300 


6.57 


30.70 


5.540 


6.87 


33.40 


5.779 


7.16 


28.20 


5.310 


6.58 


30.80 


5.549 


6.88 


33.50 


5.787 


7.17 


28.25 


5.315 


6.59 


30.90 


5.558 


6.89 


33.60 


5.796 


7.18 


28.33 


5.322 


6.60 


31.00 


5.567 


6.90 


33.70 


5.805 


8.19 


28.40 


5.329 


6.61 


31.10 


5.576 


6.91 


33.80 


5.814 


8.20 


28.50 


5.335 


(5.62 


31.20 


5.585 


6.92 


33.90 


5.822 


8.21 


28.60 


5.347 


6.63 


31.30 


5.595 


6.94 


34.00 


5.830 


8.23 



EXPLANATION OF TWIST TABLE. 

(See remarks on twist in Chapter V.) This 
table is calculated for the twist of roving on the 
Lowell speeder ; though it may be used for other 
frames. It will be noticed that the multiplier 
used is 1.24 (see twist of one hank). It will also 
be noticed that the square root of the hank is 
worked out at each interval ; so the table will be 
of use to all classes and " creeds " of twist. All 
that is necessary^ after ascertaining the hank^ is 
to look on the table for the square root of that 
particular hank, and then multiply it by any num- 
ber that may be thought right. In this way any 
carder can be suited and gratify his owai taste in 
this particular. The writer uses 1.20 for slubbers 



WILSON'S C0TT0:N' CARDERS' COMPANION. 129 

and fly frames^ and 1.24 for the LoAvell speeder, 
and 1.18 for the old soft work. 

The manner of preparing this table was the fol- 
lowing : Take i.h hank, for an example, written 
dceimallj; and extract the square root; thus : 

2)4.50(2.121 
4 



41)50 
41 



422)900 
844 



4241)5600 
4241 

1359 

We find by this operation that the square root 
of 4.50 is 2.121 ; and by multiplying 2.121 by 
1.24, we find the twist should be 2.63 per inch. 

2.121 
1.24 



8484 
4242 
2121 

2.63004 

It is not to be supposed that we can always find 
gears that will give us exactly the amount of twist 
we may desire ; then take the gear that comes 
nearest as the best that can be done. 

RULE TO FIND TWIST. 

First, find the number of revolutions of front 
roll ; second, its diameter ; third, its circumference ; 
fourth, multiply the revolutions of front roll by 
the circumference; and that gives the number of 



130 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

inches delivered per minute; fifth, find the number 
of revolutions of flyer; sixth, divide the inches 
delivered into revolutions of flyer, and the quotient 
will be the twist. 

EXAMPLE. 

Suppose the front roll make 120 revolutions per 
minute, and its diameter is li inches (written 1.12). 

3.1416 
l.j^ 

62832 
31416 
31416 

3.518592 

We find the circumference to be 3.518592 — or, as 
we should write it, 3.52 inches. The revolutions 
of front roll 120 : 

3.52 
120 



7040 
352 



422.40 

So we find that the front roller delivers 422.40 
inches per minute. We will suppose the flyers 
run 1125 per minute. 

422.40)1125.00(2.66 
84480 

280200 
253440 



267600 
253440 

14160 



WILSON'S COTTON CAEDERS' COMPANION. 131 

We find in this case that the twist of a frame 
of the above arrangement would be 2.66 per inch. 

It is probably known to carders generally that 
the twist gear in a slubber or fly frame is a driver^ 
and in the Lowell speeder and some others, the 
twist gear is a driven. In the former more twist 
requires a smaller gear, in the latter a larger one. 

The author has had it in mind to insert a table 
of diameter, area and circumference of circles, in 
this volume ; but as there are so many such tables 
in existence, it is hardly advisable to do so, per- 
haps, but he will give the rules for obtaining them. 

To find the circumference of a circle when the di- 
ameter is given, multiply the diameter by 3.1416, 
and the product will be the circumference. To 
find the diameter when the circumference is given, 
reverse the operation. To find the area of a circle^ 
square the diameter (that is, multiply it into itself), 
and multiply that product by the decimal .7854; 
and the product will be the area. To find an 
equal square side of a circle, take the square root 
of the area. To find the cubical contents of a 
round ball, cube the diameter (that is, multiply it 
into itself twice: suppose the diameter is 4 inches, 
then 4X4=16, and 16X4=64), and multiply that 
product by the decimal .5236, and that product 
will be the solid contents of the ball. 



132 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 






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WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 133 



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134 WILSON'S COTTON CAKDERS' COMPANION. 





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WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 135 



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136 WILSON^S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANION. 



EXPLANATION OF HA^GROMETER TABLE. 

This table is to be used in connection with the 
double-bulb thermometer, or hvon^ometer as such 
an instrument is called. When one bulb is kept 
wet, and the other dry, the dryness or dampness 
is indicated by the number of degrees between the 
two thermometers. The drier the atmosphere, the 
greater the difference between the two ; the damper 
the atmosphere, the less difference there will be 
between the two. When they stand alike^ then 
the air is perfectly saturated and begins to drop 
its load of moisture, which, however, does not 
often take place in-doors unless the building leaks. 
The use of this instrument and table in a carding- 
room is, to enable the carder to govern his weight 
according to the condition of the atmosphere. 
Cotton absorbs about five per cent, of its own 
weight in moisture when the air is very damp, and 
when the air is very dry it absorbs little or none. 

It will be readily seen from the above that vari- 
ations in weight of roving must be made to cor- 
respond to variations of the atmosphere in the 
room. If it is made to weigh no more when it has 
two or three per cent, of water in it, than it does 
Avhen dry, as a matter of course when the yam 
from such roving becomes dry it will be too light^ 
and the cloth too light. 

The author has had some knowledge of hygro- 
meters of different kinds, and of hygrometer tables^ 
for some years past; but there was a long time he 
did not understand what w^as meant by the terms 
50, 60, or 70 per cent, of water in the air. He 
could read thermometers and tables, and tell, as 
accurately as any other man could tell, what 
amount of moisture there was in the air at any 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 137 



time, if he had the instrument and table to read 
from ; but he did not understand the subject. 
Some years ago he wrote to a gentleman in Phila- 
delphia, Pa., for some instructions in table work. 
In reply he received some documents which gave 
the desired information, and from these documents 
he learned how to make a table, and was enabled 
to understand it. Among the above-mentioned 
documents was a "Table of Quantity," showing 
the weight in grains of a cubic foot of vapor at 
different temperatures from 0^ to 95^ Fahrenheit; 
also, a table of corrections, and rules for calculat- 
ing a table. The author wrote to the same gentle- 
man a few weeks since, asking the privilege of 
introducing those tables in this work, but has re- 
ceived no answer, and therefore they are omitted. 
He does not feel at liberty to copy other men^s 
productions without permission. He does, however^ 
feel at liberty to give the plan on which this table 
was made. 

It is not claimed that this table is exactly ac- 
curate. It is not brought down so fine as would 
probably be required for very nice experiments. 
It is claimed by most meteorologists that there are 
two degrees of absolute dryness to one observed ; 
that is, when the two thermometers are one degree 
apart, it is said that there exist two degrees of 
absolute dryness. Some even make a little addi- 
tion to that, and multiply the degrees observed by 
two and a small decimal for the absolute dryness. 
The figures on the left of^ double columns, desig- 
nated by an asterisk (^)y are for the dry-bulb ther- 
mometer ; the columns marked o are for the wet- 
bulb thermometer ; the columns marked p. c. denote 
the percentage of moisture in the air. 



12* 



138 WILSOX'S COTTO^^ CARDERS' COMPAOTOX. 
EXAMPLE. 

Suppose the dry-bulb thermometer stands at 76^. 
and the wet at 70^ ; we follow down the column 
marked o until we come to 70^^, and exactly op- 
posite in the column marked p. c. we find 67 per 
cent. The figures at the top of double columns 
(whole and mixed numbers) denote the number of 
grains of water a cubic foot of air will hold at 
that particular temperature (dry-bulb). 

THE WAY IT WAS MADE. 

In the above example^ 76^ dry, 70^ wet, differ- 
ence observed 6^. In this case 6^X2.16=13^ 
(nearly); 76^—13^=63^; and we find the air at 
a temperature of 76^ will hold 10 grains of water, 
and at 63^ it holds 6.75 grains. Then, by the 
rule of percentage, we divide : 

10.) 6.75 (.67 
60_ 

75 
70 

5 

We find we have 67 per cent, of water in the 
air; that is, 67 per cent, of 10 grains — what it is 
capable of holding at a temperature of 76^. The 
wet-bulb thermometer, or its readings, is called 
•^the dew point" ; and when they both stand alike 
there is a hundred per cent, of water in the air, or 
in other words it is fulf, and rain begins to fall. 

Several firms in Boston and some in Philadel- 
phia make hygrometers; and Charles Wilder, of ' 
Peterboro', N. H., makes splendid instruments of 
this kind — beautiful in appearance, that can be 
relied on for' accuracy. The fountains should be 
filled with soft water that has been boiled ; the 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 139 

lace or silk which covers the bulb of the wet ther- 
mometer, as well as the wick that supplies it with 
water, should be changed occasionally. When there 
are only two or three degrees difference between the 
two thermometers, it is safe to allow one grain 
extra in twenty-five, in the weight of roving. The 
hygrometers seldom show less than 50 per cent, of 
water in the air in-doors. Dry-bulb thermometer 
70^ and wet 63^ or 64^ are the best conditions 
for carding. The variations out doors are much 
more ; it is interesting to watch them. Almost 
any man of ordinary intelligence, with one of 
these instruments, a barometer and vane, could 
with a little care and attention soon become quite 
a respectable '' Prob." 



140 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



TABLE 

TO ASCERTAIN THE LENGTH OF BELTING IN A ROLL, THE 
INSIDE COIL SUPPOSED TO BE 1^ INCHES DIAMETER. 



Coils. 


Feet. 


Inches. 


Coils. 


Feet. 


Inches. 


Coils. 


Feet. 


Inches, 


1 




5 


35 


91 


7 


69 


334 


1 


2 




11 


36 


96 


7 


70 


343 


6 


3 


1 


7 


37 


101 


8 


71 


353 


1 


4 


2 


4 


38 


106 


11 


72 


362 


9 


5 


3 


3 


39 


112 


4 


73 


372 


7 


6 


4 


4 


40 


117 


10 


74 


382 


6 


7 


5 


6 


41 


123 


5 


75 


392 


7 


8 


6 


10 


42 


129 


2 


76 


402 


9 


9 


8 


3 


43 


135 


1 


77 


413 


1 


10 


9 


10* 


44 


141 


1 


78 


423 


7 


11 


11 


6 


45 


147 


3 


79 


434 


2 


12 


13 


4 


46 


153 


6 


80 


444 


11 


13 


15 


4 


47 


159 


11 


81 


455 


9 


14 


17 


5 


48 


166 


6 


82 


466 


9 


15 


19 


8 


49 


173 


2 


83 


477 


11 


16 


22 





50 


180 





84 


489 


2 


17 


24 


7 


51 


186 


11 


85 


500 


6 


18 


27 


1 


52 


194 





S6 


512 





19 


29 


10 


53 


201 


2 


87 


523 


8 


20 


32 


9 


54 


208 


6 


88 


535 


5 


21 


35 


9 


55 


216 





89 


547 


4 


22 


38 


10 


56 


223 


7 


90 


559 


4 


23 


42 


2 


57 


231 


3 


91 


571 


6 


24 


45 


7 


58 


239 


2 


92 


583 


10 


25 


49 


1 


59 


247 


1 


93 


596 


3 


2G 


52 


9 


60 


255 


3 


94 


608 


10 


27 


56 


6 


61 


263 


6 


95 


621 


6 


28 


60 


6 


62 


271 


10 


96 


634 


4 


29 


64 


6 


63 


280 


4 


97 


647 


4 


30 


68 


9 


64 


288 


11 


98 


660 


5 


31 


73 





65 


297 


9 


99 


673 


7 


32 


77 


6 


66 


306 


7 


100 


686 


11 


33 


82 


1 


67 


315 


8 








34 


86 


9 


68 


324 


10 









These calculations are based on the supposition 
that the average thickness of the belt is i of an 
inch. If it is more^ the length will run short of 
what the table indicates ; if less^ it will overrun. 
Count the coils, measure the diameter of the roll. 
If the number of coils equal two to the inch, then 
the table indicates correctly. If there are more 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 141 

than two coils to an inch of diameter, the feet will 
overrun what the table says ; if less, it will fall 
short. 

ILLUSTRATION OF TABLE. 

We will suppose the first, or inside, coil to be li 
inches diameter, the circumference 4.71 inches, 
called in the table 5 inches. If the belt is i of 
an inch in thickness, another coil would make the 
diameter of the roll 2 inches ; circumference 6.28 
+5=11 inches. This table was made after that 
manner. Suppose we have a roll of belting with 
60 coils^ and the diameter of the roll is 31 inches, 
then there is 255 feet 3 inches in the roll. It is 
proper to remark that 1 inch in diameter is always 
to be thrown out for the hole in the centre of the 
roll. 



142 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



A PERPETUAL CALENDAR. 

The author has thought that a calendar which 
could be used year after year, with a slight mani- 
pulation, may be of some benefit to those possess- 
ing it ; and, as a common calendar for one year is 
of no use after that particular year has passed, and 
only takes the room that might be put to some 
use^ he has concluded to place the appended per- 
petual calendar in this work, or one which may be 
made so with very little trouble. 



Saturday, 


1 


8 


15 


22 


29 


Sunday, 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


Monday, 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


Tuesday, 


4 


11 


18 


25 




Wednesday, 


5 


12 


19 


26 




Thursday, 


6 


13 


20 


27 




Fri day, 


7 


14 


21 


28 





Sunday, 


1 


8 


15 


22 


29 


Monday, 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


Tuesday, 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


Wednesday, 


4 


11 


18 


25 




Thursday, 


5 


12 


19 


26 




Friday, 


6 


13 


20 


27 




Saturday, 


7 


14 


21 


28 





WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 143 



Monday, 

Tuesday, 

Wednesday, 

Thursday, 

Friday, 

Saturday, 

Sunday, 



1 


8 


15 


22 


2 


9 


16 


23 


3 


10 


17 


24 


4 


11 


18 


25 


5 


12 


19 


26 


6 


13 


20 


27 


7 


14 


21 


28 



Tuesday, 


1 


8 


15 


22 


29 


Wednesday, 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


Thursday, 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


Friday, 


4 


11 


18 


25 




Saturday, 


5 


12 


19 


26 




Sunday, 


6 


13 


20 


27 




Monday, 


7 


14 


21 


28 





Wednesday, 


1 


8 


15 


22 • 


29 


Thursday, 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


Friday, 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


Saturday, 


4 


11 


18 


25 




Sunday, 


5 


12 


19 


26 




Monday, 


6 


13 


20 


27 




Tuesday, 


7 


14 


21 


28 





144 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



Thursday, 


1 


8 


15 


22 


29 


Friday, 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


Saturday, 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


Sunday, 


4 


11 


18 


25 




Monday, 


5 


12 


19 


26 




Tuesday, 


6 


13 


20 


27 




Wednesday, 


7 


14 


21 


28 





Friday, 


1 


8 


15 


22 


29 


Saturday, 


2 


9 


16 


23 


30 


Sunday, 


3 


10 


17 


24 


31 


Monday, 


4 


11 


18 


25 




Tuesday, 


5 


12 


19 


26 




Wednesday, 


6 


13 


20 


27 




Thursday, 


7 


14 


21 


28 





It will be noticed that by repeating the weekly 
table seven times^ we have the day that each month 
in every year must commence on for all time to 
come ; and it is only necessary to dot the day that 
any month begins^, with a pencil, to have a calen- 
dar for that month. The operation can be repeated 
during life^ if desired, and then it can be left to 
posterity. As January, 1876, commences with 
Saturday, this calendar begins to reckon on that 
day. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 145 

ADDRESS TO A COTTOX CARDER. 

Friend mid Brother Carder : 

Some one, who was probably well qualified to 
judge, has had sufficient confidence in your ability 
and integrity to place you in charge of a very im- 
portant department in cotton manufacturing. Your 
position is a responsible one. There is committed 
to your care a large amount of valuable machinery 
and stock, and the preparation of material for the 
use of all the other departments in your mill. 
*Upon your ability and faithfulness depend the 
financial success of the concern for which you 
work, the comfort of hundreds of laboring men, 
women and children, and the satisfaction of thou- 
sands of people who purchase and use the goods 
you help to manufacture. If through your vigil- 
ance and industry your machinery is all in good 
order, everything well adapted to the end for 
which it was made, every machine and part of 
machine doing its appropriate work, properly at- 
tended, and producing good, smooth, even, clean 
roving, then the work throughout the entire mill 
will run well ; spinners, spoolers, warpers, dressers 
and weavers will be able to produce good work 
comfortably, and good, nice cloth will be the result. 
On the other hand, if your cards are dull, if your 
drawing cuts and from any cause does not draw 
evenly, if through your ignorance, or negligence, 
or both, your machines are not well adapted one 
to another, or if they are not well attended, and 
as a result your roving is rough, uneven and dirty; 
then spinners, spoolers, warpers, dressers and 
I weavers will be obliged to labor hard to produce 
; poor work, and bad cloth will be the result. — 
I Weary limbs, aching heads and heartS; second 

\ 13 



146 WILSON'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPANION. 

quality of cloth, and disappointed hopes of owners, 
will be the constant mementos of your inefficiency. 
How to avoid the latter result, and how to secure 
the former, should be your constant study. 

An old and successful carder was once asked 
what was the secret of his success, and what course 
it was necessary for a young man to pursue, in 
order to attain to a high degree of perfection ini 
this art. The old man's reply was — "Attend to it'' 
And this answer, though short, is very comprehen- 
sive. This trade requires the close application of 
him who would succeed in it. Success and victory 
do not come of ease and carelessness, but from* 
hard study, untiring vigilance and constant atten- 
tion. It makes no difference who the man is, what 
his attainments are, what his natural or acquired 
ability may be, or what his qualifications are. 
Hard work and close attention are the constant 
concomitants of this vocation ; they cover all tha 
ground in every man's experience. 

Have you a good reputation as a carder ? Then 
they are necessary for yoii^ in order that you may 
retain it; for a love of ease and habits of careless- 
ness will soon rob you of it, however high you may 
have risen. Are you a young man without a rep- 
utation ? Then they are necessary for yoii^ that 
you may thereby gain one. Did you take somee 
body's old room, all run down, or did you take a; 
room all in perfect order, or did you start one ex^ 
actly to your own liking ? Are your tools poor 
and ill adapted to the place they are in, or are 
they all nice, exactly as you would have them ' 
Are you working poor stock, or is it good, lon^ 
staple, and clean ? Have you a poor and unreli 
able set of help, or are they the best in the couni 
try, or are they average in qqality ? Is you i 
employer strict, hard to please, sometimes unrea; 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 147 

sonable, or is he loose and careless, allowing you 
to do as you please ? Are your associates all good 
men who understand their business, or are they 
ignoramuses who don't care a straw which way 
things go ? Under any of these circumstances, 
keep at it through thick and thin ; industry, per- 
severance, watchfulness and never-ceasing applica- 
tion are necessary all the time ; and, what is more, 
these are sure to win, sooner or later. No matter 
what the circumstances or surroundings may be, 
brains, like water, may be disturbed and forced up 
or forced down out of their natural level, by tem- 
porary conditions, but, be sure, they will find their 
own level in time. Clouds, thick and black, caused 
by jealousy and hypocrisy, may for a while cover 
up talent, truth and energy ; but time will clear 
these all away, so that they will shine out in an 
unmistakable manner, while the opposite will go 
to oblivion, where they belong. 

Aim to be a better carder than any who have 
preceded you. It is possible for you to be so. 
Never be satisfied with present attainments, or 
think for a moment that your work is going well 
enough while it is possible for you to make it go 
better. Improve every opportunity to learn ; you 
may learn from high and low, rich and poor, in 
early morning, at noon and night ; you may learn 
from experience, from books, aiM from men. Make 
carding cotton your principal business, though it 
is neither necessary nor profitable to confine your- 
self to that alone. Most men have some one 
business in which they excel, and other arts and 
sciences are made auxiliary thereto. Few men 
become adepts at more than one kind of business ; 
and in order to do that it is often necessary to 
make many other things contribute something 
towards that one. A fair education in the com- 



148 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

mon branches is indispensable to proficiency in 
this business, and a tolerable knowledge of natural 
philosophy, mechanics, chemistry, meteorology, 
astronomy, hydraulics and hydrostatics would be 
better still. Set an example worthy to be imitated 
by your help in promptness, faithfulness, fairness, , 
neatness and industry. Don't be a loafer yourself,, 
and have no loafers about you. Be civil and kind 
to all, and especially to the poor. Be the helper ■ 
of the helpless. Have good, wholesome rules and 
regulations- have them understood, and then see 
that they are enforced. It is not enough for you 
to give an order; it is your business to see that 
your orders are executed. Be respectful to superi- 
ors, and behave in such a manner yourself as to 
be worthy of respect from equals and inferiors. 
Yield strict obedience to your employer in all 
things, as long as you work for him. No matter 
how much you think you know, or how little you 
think he knows. If you and he don't think alike, 
it is your place to jneld, and his to direct. You 
may suggest and propose in a proper manner, but 
don't bore him with your peculiar ideas, when you 
have reason to think they are distasteful to him. 
Let your works praise you. One thing more — 
please not forget it : 

** Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should 
do to you, do ye even so to them." (Matt. : vii: 12.) 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 149 



WEIGHTS OF VARIOUS ARTICLES. 

A gallon of fresh water weighs 8 Ibs.^ 5t oz. 

A gallon of oil weighs 7.45 lbs. 

A gallon of vinegar weighs 8.64 lbs. 

A gallon of molasses weighs 11 lbs. 

Cast-iron weighs per cubic foot, 451.68 lbs. 

Wrought-iron weighs per cubic foot, 486.13 lbs. 

Lead weighs per cubic foot, 708.75 lbs. 

A cubic inch of cast-iron weighs .2608 lb. 

A cubic inch of wrought-iron weighs .2807 lb. 

A cubic inch of lead weighs .4101 lb. 

To ascertain the capacity in bushels of a box, 
bin, barrel or other vessel (dry measure), find the 
cubic inches, and divide them by 2150.42 ; the 
quotient is the bushels. 

To find the capacity in gallons of any vessel, 
find the cubic inches, and divide them by 231 ; 
the quotient will be the gallons. 

Water is at its greatest density at 39^ Fahren- 
heit. It expands both ways from this point. 

Ice is one-ninth more bulky than water at the 
above point, and steam seventeen hundred times. 



13* 



150 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



RECEIPTS. 

Hoiv to make glue that ivill Jiold^ spread ivcll^ and 
keejj well : Put 1 pound of good, dry glue to soak 
in good cider vinegar enough to cover it ; let it 
soak over night. In the morning put the glue pot 
heating over a slow fire (sitting in a kettle of water 
is best). When it is pretty well melted, put in 
one gill of molasses; and after it is all dissolved, 
put in 100 grains of borax and 100 grains of pul- 
verized chalk. The borax will melt, and the chalk 
sink. Thin with water to the right consistency. 

How to make helt cement: Dissolve fish glue- 
(or, as some call it, isinglass) in rum and water,, 
half-and-half It dissolves quickly, is ready to use 
as soon as dissolved, and is best when first made. 
Make no more at any time than is wanted for 
immediate use. 

How to make a roll varnish for top rollers that 
are old and dry^ or rough : Mix common shellac 
and raw linseed oil — two parts of the former to 
one of the latter. Sand-paper the rolls first, and 
then put the varnish on cold. Rub it in well with 
a piece of yarn waste or a piece of cloth. 

Another nice preparation for top rollers may be 
made of gum arabic and gelatine, half-and-half, 
dissolved in water and rubbed on with the finger. 
If rollers lap up, after receiving a coat of shellac 
and oil, then put on a little of this last-named 
varnish, and they will be all right. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDEKS' COMPANION. 151 



POWER. 

The mechanical powers are three in number, ac- 
cording to Haswellj viz : the lever, the inclined 
plane and the pulley. Carders have most to do 
with the lever, as that kind of weight is commonly 
used in connection with most machines. To find 
the power, when the length of the lever and the 
weight are known, multiply the weight by the dis- 
tance from the fulcrum, and divide that product 
by the distance of the fulcrum from the power. 

EXAMPLE. 

A drawing weight weighs 6 pounds. It hangs 
on a lever 6i inches from the fulcrum, and the ful- 
crum is Ih inches from the power. What is the 
power on the rollers ? 

6.50 

6 

1.50) 39.00 (26 lbs.. Ans. 
300 

900 
900 



152 WILSOX'S COTTON CABDERS^ COMPANION. 

RULE TO CALCULATE DRAUGHT. 

A few remarks on draught may be in order be- 
fore giving the rule to calculate it, as wrong ideas 
are often given and received by the use of com- 
mon terms. The meaning of the term as used in 
connection with machinery for carding and spin* 
ning cotton, is to draw out^ stretch or elongate a 
sliver of cotton. There is no misunderstanding of 
terms when we say a draught of 3, 4, 6, 7 or 7i. 
It means that for every inch that a frame receives, 
it delivers 3, 4, 6, 7 or 7i inches. Misunderstand- 
ings occur where the draught is less than 1, as 
when we say a draught of H or H, 

If a machine delivers exactly what it receives, 
of course there is no draught or stretch • but ac- 
cording to rule, all the rolls being alike in diame- 
ter, and all the gears, drivers and drivens, the same 
figures would say there was a draught of 1 be- 
cause the drivens would contain the drivers one 
time exactly. It will be understood by a careful 
study of this subject, and especially the rule, that 
one is in all cases to be deducted from draught as 
shown by figures ; the remainder is the real 
draught or stretch; so that when we say a draught 
of li, li, or H, it is really a draught of i, i, or i. 
The author makes these remarks because he has 
been puzzled himself over these very things, and 
he has never seen this subject referred to in any 
work on cotton manufacturing. 

The place to begin to count teeth, and take 
measures for calculating the draught of any ma- 
chine, is at its delivery, and work back to the 
receiving roll. If the whole draught of a machine 
is sought, intermediate rolls, cylinders, or gears 
need not be taken into account, unless they are 
directly connected by way of driving. The mid- 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 153 

die rollers of a drawings roving, spinning frame or 
the dofier or feed rollers of a card, need not be 
reckoned, unless in case of a card where there are 
no calender rollers; in that case the doffer is the 
delivering roller and must be so reckoned. We 
sometimes find a gear which is both a driver and 
a driven. In such a case leave it out, by the rule 
of cancellation. Call the gear connected with the 
delivering roll the first driver in all cases (whether 
it is really a driver or a driven gear), and the gear 
connected with the receiving roller is to be reck- 
oned as the last driven always. 

The principle of draught is, to run a sliver 
through a succession of rollers — each pair, or set^ 
as it advances, running a little faster than the pre- 
ceding—so that the rule to find draught is based 
on the plan of an increase of speed of rollers ; and 
if both receiving and delivering rollers were equal 
in size, the question would amount to this : How 
many revolutions does this delivering roller make 
to the receiving roller one ? But as there is most 
always a difference in size between the receiving 
and delivering rollers, the question actually is : 
How many inches are delivered for one received ? 
And the difference in size of rollers must be taken 
into account. 

Hoiv to proceed to take draught. — First, pick 
out all the driving gears, beginning as directed 
above; count the teeth of each, and place the 
number of teeth, or the diameter in inches of every 
gear, or pulley, above a line, thus : 

1st driver, 44 teeth ; 2nd, 50 ; 3rd, diam. receiving roll | 
1st driven, 108 " ; " 77 ; " " deUvering " -Lo 

Second, count the drivens in the same way, and 
place them under the line. We suppose in this 
case that the front or delivering roller is li inches, 



154 WILSON^S COTTON CARDERS' COMPAXIOX. 

and the back or receiving roller is li inches, which 
are equal to I and V- in the shape of an improper 
fraction. We next multiply all the drivers and 
the diameter of the receiving roller together : 
44X50X9=19,800. Next we multiply all the 
drivens and the diameter of the delivering roller 
together: 108X77X10=83,160. Next divide the 
product of drivens by the product of drivers ; the 
quotient is the draught sought. 

19800)83160(4.20 
79200 

39600 
39600 

We may sum up the rule as follows : 

I. Multiply all the drivers together, and that 
product by the diameter of the receiving rolls. 

II. Multiply all the drivens together, and that 
product by the diameter of the delivering rolls. 

III. Divide the product of the drivens by the 
product of the drivers ] the quotient is the draught. 

Note. — ^^If the frame is driven by pulleys instead 
of gears, or if there are both pulleys and gears, 
take the diameter of pulleys in inches and decimal 
parts of incheS;, instead of teeth. 



WILSON^S COTTON CAEDEES' COMPANION. 155 



RULE TO CALCULATE SPEED. 

The principle of calculating speed is the same 
as calculating draught, with this difference: — 
Draught has to do with the surface, and speed only 
with the revolutions. 

The speed of different drums, pulleys, or shaft- 
ing, is in proportion to the diameter, or it may be 
calculated after that manner. Suppose a driving 
pulley or drum is two feet in diameter, and it drives 
a drum or pulley one foot in diameter ; then the 
latter makes two revolutions to the former one, and 
so of a succession of drums or pulleys, no matter 
how many ; so that a succession of such, or the 
speed, may be calculated one way by multiplica* 
tion, and the reverse by division. Suppose a driv- 
ing pulley or drum is twelve feet in diameter, and 
it belts on to a pulley five feet in diameter, and 
this latter shaft contains a second driving pulley 
four and a half feet in diameter and belts on to a 
driven three feet in diameter. The speed of the 
main driver is one hundred and fifty revolutions 
per minute. What would be the speed of the last 
mentioned shaft or drum ? 

Inches. Inches. 

1st dri\er=144; 2nd driver=54; speed of main driver, 150 

Inches. Inches. 

1st driven=60 ; " driven={]6 

In this example we first multiply the drivers to- 
gether, and that product by the speed of main 
driver. Next we multiply the drivens together, 
and take the product for a divisor for the product 
of the drivers. 



156 wilso:n^'s cotton carders' companion. 



144 

54 




36 
60 


576 
720 




2160 


7776 
150 






388800 
7776 






2160) 1166400 ( 
10800 


540 




8640 
8640 







00 

We find by this operation that the speed of the 
last-named dram is 540 revolutions per minute. 
Now, suppose we have a shaft driven in the man- 
ner described, the speed of which is 540 revolu- 
tions per minute, and we wish to ascertain the 
diameter of the main driver, we reverse the opera- 
tion: 2160X540=-1166400-140=7776-54=144 
inches. 

From these examples and illustrations we derive 
the following general rules for calculating speed : 

I. Multiply all the drivers (diams.) together, 
and that product by the speed of the main driver. 

II. Multiply all the drivens together. 

III. Take the products of the drivens for a di- 
visor for the product of the drivers ; the quotient 
will be the speed sought. 

Note. With gears proceed in the same manner^ 
counting teeth instead of taking diameter. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 157 

TIME. 

Every carder should take note of time as it 
passes, so that he may realize how flist it goes, and 
act with promptness in the discharge of his duties. 
It is interesting, if not profitable, to notice its divi- 
sions and variations. The sun is the great source 
of light; it is supposed to stand still; but the 
motion of the earth around it gives us four sea- 
sons : twelve calendar months, fifty-two weeks, three 
hundred sixty-five and a fourth days, eight thou- 
sand seven hundred and sixty-six hours, five hun- 
dred twenty-five thousand nine hundred and sixty 
minutes, thirty-one million five hundred fifty-seven 
thousand and six hundred seconds, in round num- 
bers, in a year. 

The average length of sunlight for the year is 
not far from twelve hours a day, though the ex- 
tremes go as high as fifteen hours and sixteen min- 
utes, and as low as nine hours and three minutes. 
We have clocks and watches to keep time, and ar- 
tificial light to help equalize the days ; but the 
sun and the motions of the earth during the year 
are the great regulators. When the sun is south 
we call it noon, but scientific men have discovered 
a little variation here, and fortunately for us, they 
have told how much, and how we may keep regular 
time during these variations. The author has come 
upon a nice little table in a certain work which 
gives the exact time, by the clock, w^hen the shadow 
is at the noon mark, for every day in the year. He 
wrote to the proper persons and asked liberty to 
make an extract from their table, but having re- 
ceived no answer, he will make a little calculation 
by the Old Farmers' Almanac, show^ing what time 
it is, or should be, by the clock when the sun 
reaches the noon mark, not for every day in the 

14 



15 



WILSOX'S COTTOX CARDERS' COMPAmON. 



year, but often enough to enable us to regulate a 
clock. It will be noticed that the sun is south four 
days in the year only, viz: April ISth, June ISth, 
September 2nd and December 24th. 

A reference, to the following table will show 
what time it should be when the sun reaches the 
noon mark on the following days in the year : 

WHEX THE SUX REACHES THE NOOX MARK. 



DATE. 


True time, M. 


DATE. 


True time, M. 


DATE. 


True time, M. 


DATE. 


True time,M. 


tfan. 


H. M 


April. 


H. M. 


July. 


H. M. 


Oct. 


H. M. 


1 


12.04 


1 


12.04 


2 


12.04 


3 


11.49 


5 


12.06 


5 


12.03 


6 


12.05 


6 


11.48 


10 


12.08 


10 


12.01 


14 


12.06 


10 


11.47 


15 


12.10 


15 


12.00 






15 


11.46 


20 


12.11 


20 


11.59 


Aug. 




20 


11.45 


25 


12.13 


25 


11.58 


7 


12.05 


25 


11.44 


30 


]2.14 


30 


11.57 


15 

20 


12.04 
12.03 


Nov. 




Frh. 




May. 




25 


12.02 


13 


11.45 


5 


12.14 


5 


11.56 


29 


12.01 


20 


11.46 


20 


12.14 


23 


11.57 






25 


11.47 


25 


12.13 


31 


11.58 


Sept. 




28 


11.48 










2 


12.00 


30 


11.49 


31 ch. 




June. 




4 


11.59 






1 


12.12 


7 


11.59 


7 


11.58 


Dec. 




6 


12.11 


15 


12.00 


10 


11.57 


3 


11.50 


10 


12.10 


21 


12.02 


12 


11.56 


5 


11.51 


15 


12.09 


28 


12.03 


15 


11.55 


10 


11.53 


20 


12.07 






18 


11.54 


15 


11.56 


25 


12.06 






22 


11.52 


20 


11.58 










25 


11.51 


22 


11.59 










29 


11.50 


24 

26 

28 


12.00 
12.01 
12.02 



To make a noon mark, find a door or window 
frame that stands perpendicular, then with the aid 
of a compass strike a line on the floor due north 
from the corner w^here the sun shines. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 159 



In response to a circular announcing the intention 
of the author to publish the Cotton Carders' 
Companion, orders were received from the fol- 
lowing individuals and firms : 



Adams, Phinehas, Stark Mills, Manchester, N. H. 

Atkinson, Edward, Indian Orchard Mill, Boston, Mass. 

Atwood, J. S., Wauregan Mills, Wauregan, Conn. 

Aspinwall, M., Attawaugan Mills, Killingly, Conn. 

Ainsworth, Wm. H., Wilmington Cotton Mills, Wilmington, N. C. 

Adams, Charles E., Lowell, Mass. 

Battles, F. F., Massachusetts Cotton Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Burke, William A., Lowell, Mass. 

Blaisdell, Wm. F., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Blaisdell, C. E., Merrimack Manufacturing Co , Lowell, Mass. 

Brown, H. H., Fisherville, N. H. 

Bailey, C. R., Waltham, Mass. 

Boyden, E., Prescott Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Bedlow, George W., Chicopee, Mass. 

Bacon, Francis E., & Co., Boston, Mass. 

Burnham, William J., Lewiston, Maine. 

Cumnock, A. G., Boott Cotton Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Cheney, J. L., Lowell, Mass. 

Clark, C. Martin, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Chapin, Samuel, Tremont and Suffolk Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Cooledge, F. S., Lawrence Manufacturing Co., liOAvell, Mass. 

Call, A. F., Lowell, Mass. 

Conilie, William, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Clough, Henry, Tremont and Suffolk Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Clark, Jeremiah, Lowell, Mass. 

Cumnock, J., Great Falls, N. H. 

Chase, Jonathan, Albion Co., 17 Exchange St., Providence, R. J. 

Chandler, Geo. H., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Carroll, A. H., Mont Yernon Mills, Baltimore, Md. 

Collins, David M., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Caverly, Robert B., Lowell, Mass. 



160 WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

Dupee, James A., Boston, Mass. 

Dix, Daniel, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Dickey, A. J., Manchester, N. H. 

Davis, A. A., Hamilton Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Davis, S. H., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Draper, George, & Son, Hopedale, Mass. 

Davis, E. S., Lewiston, Maine. 

Drew, W. S., Atlantic Manufacturing Co., Lawrence, Mass. 

Davis, Edgar A., Nashua, N. H. 

Dyer, D. H., Wilmington Cotton Mills, Wilmington, N. C. 

Donaldson, R. L, English Manufacturing Co., Columbia, S. C. 

Edwards, Jabez, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 
Earle, D. D., Forestdale, R. I. 

Foss & Pevey, Lowell, Mass. 
Francis, James, Lowell, Mass. 

Green, Benjamin, Cabot Manufacturing Co., Brunswick, Maine. 
Green, Amos, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 
Giles, Melden, Tremont and Suffolk Mills, Lowell, Mass. 
Gegenheimer, E. D., Taunton, Mass. 
Greenleaf, Nath'l, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Hinckley, Isaac, Philadelphia, Penn. 

Howe, J. S., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Harding, David M., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Harper, O. M., Pittsburg, Penn. 

Hardy Machine Company, Biddeford, Maine. 

Howard, B. B., Cordis Mills, ISIillbury, Mass. 

Hill, William H., Dover, N. H. 

Hale, F. W., South Berwick, Maine. 

Haskins, S. W., Woonsocket, R. I. 

Hayden, E. B., Plymouth W. and C. Factory, Plymouth, Mass. 

Hard wick, Wm., Wilmington Cotton Mills, Wilmington, N. C. 

Huse, H. E., Lowell, Mass. 

Jordan, Charles P., West Boylston, Mass. 

Kent, Hervey, Exeter, N. H. 

Kitson Machine Company, Lowell, Mass. 

Kimball, L. S., Lowell, Mass. 

Kimball, H. C, Blackstone, Mass. 

Kimball, Wilson, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 



WILSON'S COTTON CAKDEES' COMPANION. 161 

Liidlam, J. S., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Love joy, S. A., Melrose, Mass. 

Lowell Card Company, Lowell, Mass. 

Lyford, A. B., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Leonard, James, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Libbey, William F., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Lowrie, George M., West Boylston, Mass. 

Lovering, O. W., Lyman Mills, Holyoke, Mass. 

Leigh, F. A., Boston, Mass. 

Lawry, F. B., Lewiston, Maine. 

Moulton, O. H., Hamilton Manufacturing Co., LoAvell, Mass. 

Maxfield, J. P., Tremont and Suffolk Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Mason, A. A., Biddeford, Maine. 

Mahoney, Jeremiah, Chicopee, Mass. 

Maxfield, R. A., Nashua Manufacturing Co., Nashua, N. H. 

Moody, George A., West Peterboro', N. H. 

McCrillis, C. H., Wait's River, Yt. 

Miles, William H., Lewiston, Maine. 

Ober, Oliver, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Palfrey, J. C, Boston, Mass. 
Putnam, Frank P., Lowell, Mass. 
Pray, Thomas, Jr., Providence, R. I. 
Peach, Charles S., North Adams, Mass. 
Prest, J. E., Pownal, Yt. 

Sawyer, J. H., Appleton Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Saunders, Benjamin, Yale Mills, Nashua, N. H. 

Stearns, Charles, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Smith, John W., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Stiles, W. A., Tremont and Suffolk Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Symonds, Benjamin, Boott Cotton Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Straw, E. A., Amoskeag Manufacturing Co., Manchester, N. H. 

Saunders, Francis, Hamilton Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Stone, William, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Slater, A. C, Whitinsville, Mass. 

Sweet, Charles, Jr., Attawaugan Mills, Killingly, Conn. 

Sands, B., Lewiston, Maine. 

Spofford, Chas., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Stevens, William, Lewiston, Maine. 

Shaw, Thomas S., Tremont and Suffolk Mills, Lowell, Mass. 

Scribner, George F., Lowell Machine Shop, Lowell, Mass. 

Sargent, J. L., Lowell, Mass. 

14* 



162 WILSON^S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 

Thyng, C. C, Warren, R. I. 
Towne, Jacob A., Manchester, N. H. 
Thompson, John B., Sahnon Falls, N. H. 
True worthy, J. B., Lowell, Mass. 
Tripp, John, Lowell, Mass. 

Whiting, Phineas, Low^ell, Mass. 

Wilder, Charles, Peterboro', N. H. 

Wright, Wm. A., Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Welch, Willard C, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Wood, Horace J., Fall River, Mass. > 

Whitehead & Atherton, Lowell, Mass. 

Watson, A. B., Lewiston, Maine. 

Whitney, William S., Lowell, Mass. 

Wattles, T. B., Chicopee Falls, Mass. 

Weeks, George W., Lancaster Mills, Clinton, Mass. 

Wright, Bliss & Faybian, Boston, Mass. 

Whitney, William H. H., Boston, Mass. 

Williston, A. L., Greenville Manufacturing Co., Florence, Mass. 

Welch, John J., Wilmington Cotton Mills, Wilmington, N. C. 

Winsor, E. M., Providence, R. I. 

West, H. F., Gloucester City, N. J. 

Watson, James, Merrimack Manufacturing Co., Lowell, Mass. 

Cotton Carders' Companion is for sale by Foster 
W1LSON5 22 Merrimack Corporation^ Lowell^ Mass. 
Sent to any part of the country, post paid^ on re- 
ceipt of price^ $1.75. 



WILSON'S COTTON CARDERS' COMPANION. 



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1-1^7^13^ MACrHTsTE: CO., 

Proprietois an<l Manufacturers of the 'Hardy" Improved 

Traverse Wheel Card Grinders, 

For Grinditif/ Cotton, Woolen , TJnen or Silk Cards, 




This cut represents * Hardy's" Improved Grinder, grinding the Doffer 
and Main Cy'inder. one or both, at the same time. (With adjustable stands, 
complete.) 'Over 5000 of these machines are in constant upc. Grinders for 
Top-Flats, Lickerins, Workers, Strippers, etc., 1 to 4 at one time. The grind- 
ing wheel passes it'=! whole wid'h beyond the range of card teeth before it 
changes, thus grinding all the teeth alike Aleo, build machines for grind- 
ing Shears, one for trueing Dresser Rolls, and a machine lor trueing Calen- 
der Rolls without removal from frame. Also, planer knife and tool grinder, 
to grind veneer cutters, curriers' knives, paper cutters or any long knives. 




The above cut represents our machin*^ lor grinding! to 4 top-flats at one 
time, with cylinder brush for cleaning out the teeth before grinding— done 
perfectly. Patented April 16, 1867. 700 now in use. 

HARDY MACHINE CO., Biddeford, Me. 

Chas. Hardy, Treas. and Agt. 



Foster Wilson, Jr., 

DEALER IN 

GENTLEMEN'S 

HATS, GLOVES, 



AND 



Furnishing Goods. 




Hats Made to Order 

AND 

Silk Hats made Over. 



ONE PEICE ONLY. 

LOWELL, MASS. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 



